Overview
- The IOC Athletes’ Commission confirmed it received complaints from visiting badminton players about Delhi’s air quality during the India Open.
- Athletes and coaches cite breathing difficulties, persistent coughing, vomiting during repeats, slower recovery, and eye irritation that can blur vision and disrupt shooting sessions.
- Coaches report the viable outdoor training window in the National Capital Region has contracted to two or three months a year due to smoggy winters and extreme summer heat.
- Key hubs such as NIS Patiala and SAI centres in Sonepat, Rohtak, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Delhi lie in the Indo‑Gangetic belt that has produced most recent Olympic medallists, creating a systemic vulnerability.
- Proposals include climate‑controlled indoor complexes and an indoor athletics track in Patiala, while better‑resourced athletes relocate to cleaner regions as juniors remain exposed; Delhi logged no clean‑air day in 2025 and heatwave days are projected to double by 2030.