Indian badminton medallist H.S. Prannoy says athletes missing ‘whole fun’ of Asian Games
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
H. S. Prannoy said the lack of a dedicated athletes’ village had taken away the joy of mixing with other competitors.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- H.S. Prannoy criticised the Asian Games organisers for poor accommodation and lack of a dedicated athletes’ village, which ruined the social experience for competitors.
- He described the badminton schedule as "cruel", with players forced to compete in two singles matches a day, which is unusual and exhausting.
- Organisers apologised for logistical problems and pledged improvements, but many athletes faced difficulties with accommodation, transport, and event management during the Games.
AI generated
NAGOYA – Indian badminton medallist H.S. Prannoy has criticised the Asian Games organisers for putting on a “sad” event for athletes and arranging a “cruel” competition schedule for his sport.
Prannoy, who won a men’s team bronze at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, said the lack of a dedicated athletes’ village had taken away the joy of mixing with other competitors, who have been spread across hotels, temporary wooden units and a cruise ship.
“The whole fun and the whole point of multi-sport events is you get to meet the rest of the players,” he said in a video interview posted on the Badminton Association of India’s YouTube channel on Sept 26.
“There is an opportunity to mingle with them. There is an opportunity to have a conversation with them. We only felt that when we went for the opening ceremony.
“It was literally sad to be in such a situation.”
Prannoy said the Games compared poorly with his experience at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where he was part of the silver medal-winning men’s team.
“Straight from China, you expect things to be better three to four years later but in this event, (it went) downwards. A lot of (athletes) had difficult experiences in terms of accommodation and transport.
“It was just a mediocre event, to be honest.”
Aichi-Nagoya organisers did not immediately respond on Sept 27 to a request for comment on Prannoy’s remarks.
The previous day, an Aichi-Nagoya Games organising committee official apologised for logistical mistakes that have affected athletes, saying accommodation and transport had improved and that staff were working “to identify the causes of each mistake and make sure they don’t happen again”.
A number of athletes and teams have complained of logistical problems at the Games, ranging from long waits to check in to their rooms to transport glitches.
Prannoy also criticised the badminton scheduling, noting players in the singles tournament had competed in two matches a day, one more than usual.
“It’s cruel because everybody is aiming for a good Asian Games, which comes once in four years. To have two singles games in a day, I haven’t seen it like that in ages,” said Prannoy, who was not one of his team’s two singles representatives.
On Sept 26, his compatriot Ayush Shetty beat Kazakhstan’s Makhsut Tajibullayev in the second round before falling to Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-chen later in the day. REUTERS