Now Reading: India Open moved to Guwahati for 2028 on Republic Day security clash
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India Open moved to Guwahati for 2028 on Republic Day security clash
The 2028 India Open Super 750 badminton tournament will be held in Guwahati instead of New Delhi, Badminton Association of India secretary general Sanjay Mishra announced on Sunday. The event is scheduled…
The 2028 India Open Super 750 badminton tournament will be held in Guwahati instead of New Delhi, Badminton Association of India secretary general Sanjay Mishra announced on Sunday. The event is scheduled for January 25-30, clashing with Republic Day security arrangements in the national capital, making hosting difficult due to logistics.
Mishra said the shift is only for that year, with the tournament returning to Delhi in 2029. Guwahati previously hosted the 2025 World Junior Championships successfully. Top players including Denmark's Anders Antonsen and France's Thom Gicquel have criticised the January window due to Delhi's severe winter air pollution and cold indoor temperatures.
The Badminton World Federation had moved the 2027 edition to February 2-7 to avoid the worst winter conditions, but reverted to late January for 2028. Separately, BAI has also bid to host the 2028 Thomas and Uber Cup and is awaiting a decision after the World Championships.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The shift to Guwahati is a logistical fix, but the deeper issue is player discontent with the January window. Anders Antonsen has openly defied BWF’s scheduling, accepting fines rather than competing in Delhi's toxic air. The BWF had already conceded by moving the event to February in 2027, only to revert in 2028. For India, the India Open is a flagship BWF World Tour Super 750 event, carrying prize money of at least $850,000. Guwahati, which successfully hosted the 2025 World Junior Championships, has the infrastructure, but January air quality in Assam is often better than Delhi's. Yet the core conflict remains: will BWF force India to permanently move the tournament to a cleaner season or location, or risk top players skipping it again? The next signal comes when BWF publishes the 2028 calendar, if the Thomas and Uber Cup bid succeeds, India will have two major events in one year to manage.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
