Singapore media tries to malign image of Assam, alleges shuttlers of facing unhygienic conditions

Assam is again grabbing the eyeballs for the wrong reasons as international shuttlers from Singapore have complained about hospitality during the much-hyped badminton tournament in Guwahati.

At a time when the Assam government along with the rest of India is trying to connect the country globally with sports, a section of the media has tried to malign the image of Assam.

In a report published by Singapore-based media house, Strait Times alleged that during the recently concluded Yonex Sunrise Guwahati Masters 2023 badminton tournament, the winners had to face an acute crisis which became a daunting task while achieving the winner's title.

As per the report, Singapore’s Terry Hee and Jessica Tan overcame nightmare conditions to win the Guwahati Masters title.

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The sportsmen allegedly encountered blackouts and murky tap water in their hotel rooms and were hit by pests and illness, but Singapore’s badminton couple Terry Hee and Jessica Tan stayed focused to clinch their second title of the season.

Speaking to India Today NE, the President of the Badminton Association of India (BAI), Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "The hotels were booked by the players themselves and the badminton association had no role in it."

Further, due to the constant influx of mosquitos, the duo had to allegedly swap their rackets for electric swatters to kill mosquitoes, they also needed teamwork to keep each other’s food away from houseflies at the Sarusajai Sports Complex.

On the other hand, for the sportsmen which were hosted by a Guwahati-based hotel, the water heaters in their hotel rooms were not working and were allegedly forced to boil water and pour it into buckets for their baths. 

These were all posted by the duo on their social media handle.

It should be mentioned here that, this is not the first instance from the Singaporean sportsmen as the report also suggested that had faced similar conditions at the Syed Modi International in Lucknow, where they reached the quarter-finals.