BWF World Championships 2026: “I Wasn’t Happy To See It On The Calendar”- Danish Shuttler Flags Pollution Problems In Delhi

Four-time BWF World Championships medalist Anders Antonsen is preparing for the upcoming World Championships as he prepares to take on Dicky Dwi Pangestu of Azerbaijan. Antonsen will be one of the Danish shuttlers to look out for in the BWF World Championships.

Interestingly, Antonsen was on a roller coaster while he won the Indonesia Open and the French Open last year; he also managed to clinch the bronze medal at the BWF World Championships 2026. However, the end of the 2025-26 season saw a slump in his career. But the Danish shuttler bounced back to grab headlines in the Thailand Open 2026, where he defeated home favourites Kunlavut.

Besides the badminton technicalities, Antonsen also spoke at length about the fiasco that occurred at the India Open and the last-minute withdrawal from the tournament. Speaking to a select media in the mixed zone, Antonsen said,

“I don’t know yet. To be honest, I wasn’t very happy to see it on the calendar. The BWF has these fines if you don’t participate in certain Super 750 or higher-level tournaments. Every year when I see the calendar, I’m thinking, Okay, they’re instantly giving me another $5,000 fine.”

When asked if he would be participating in the upcoming India Open, Antonsen said that he is yet to make a firm decision on the same. “I don’t know if it will be the same next year, and I haven’t made a 100 percent decision yet,” he added.

Antonsen said that he was not particularly pleased with the India Open schedule, which usually takes place during the peak winters of January & February, a breeding season for pollution in Delhi. He felt that hosting the tournament during those months was not ideal, and said the current timing of the World Championships in Delhi was much better.