Former world champion and Olympic medallist shuttler Nozomi Okuhara’s harrowing experience after her touchdown in India was “unfortunate and won’t happen in future”, an embarrassed Badminton Association of India (BAI) general secretary Sanjay Mishra said on Wednesday.
However, in defence of the Odisha Open organising committee, Mishra said that the ace Japanese shuttler didn’t send any e-mail informing them of the logistical details (local travel and accommodation requirements) which could have ensured proper arrangement before her arrival.
The 28-year-old Okuhara took to the social media platform fansnet.jp to narrate her ordeal after being harassed and duped by cab drivers at the New Delhi airport and not getting any official transportation after arriving in Cuttack on Monday to play the Odisha Open. She also had to wait for four hours to check in at the hotel.
A former world No. 1, Okuhara, who won the Syed Modi International Super 300 title in Lucknow and skipped the Guwahati event next week, had arrived in New Delhi via Hong Kong on Sunday night.
It was Okuhara’s Indian friends, HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu, who spoke to local members and organised for her accommodation.
Prannoy also arranged for a car which would take her to training as she wasn’t provided with a shuttle bus allocated for players as she did not have reservations at the official hotel.
