Nozomi Okuhara narrates ordeal of travelling to India for badminton tournament

Published at :December 17, 2023 at 8:19 AM

Modified at :January 14, 2024 at 12:24 AM

(Courtesy : The Indian Express)

Okuhara is currently playing Odisha Masters.

Nozomi Okuhara, former world champion and Olympic medallist from Japan, has revealed the difficulties she faced during her trip to India for two badminton tournaments. The star shuttler, who is trying to qualify for the Paris Olympics, had to deal with a series of problems, from the airport to the hotel, that tested her physically and mentally. She also expressed her gratitude to Indian players PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy, who helped her overcome the challenges and play the Odisha Masters Super 100.

Okuhara posted a detailed account of her ordeal on fansnet.jp, a Japanese website for sports fans, where she described her journey as the “worst itinerary ever”. She had won the Syed Modi International Super 300 in Lucknow a week earlier and was back in India to play the Odisha Super 100. However, her experience was marred by harassment, overcharging, and mismanagement.

Okuhara’s troubles began at the Delhi airport, where she landed via Hong Kong. She had planned to stay overnight at a hotel near the airport, which was 10 minutes away, and then fly to Odisha the next day. However, as soon as she got out of the airport, she was harassed by a stranger who tried to put her luggage on a cart without her permission.

“I have bad memories at Indian airports in the past. When I got out of the airport, a stranger started putting my luggage onto the cart without permission. I got scared and stopped, but he said something along the lines of ‘I’ll take it to the entrance.’ Feeling uneasy, I continued to the entrance,” she wrote.

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She also faced a swarm of “suspicious looking” taxi drivers who approached her, but she ignored them and looked for an Uber. However, she was told by a seemingly kind man that Uber was not allowed inside the airport and that she had to go outside. He then offered to take her to a taxi, which turned out to be a private cab that charged her 10 times the Uber fare.

“During that time, a number of suspicious-looking taxi people approached me, but I kept ignoring them, thinking, ‘Absolutely not.’ However, I wanted to know where Uber was displayed, so I talked to a guy who seemed a little kind. He said, ‘Uber is not allowed inside, so you have to go outside.’ It was late at night, and I had baggage. I was discussing with (sparring coach) Mr. Beppu, and the guy asked me, ‘How far are you going? You can take a taxi,’ he suggested,” she wrote.

Okuhara, who was travelling with her sparring coach Mr. Beppu, had to pay 4000 Yen (Rs 2200) for a 10-minute ride to the hotel, where they had made a reservation.

“I had no choice but to pay. Ah, I thought I had been fooled completely, but I was able to arrive safely at the hotel with my luggage, so I’m glad,” she wrote.

Okuhara’s woes did not end there. On arriving in Cuttack, she found out that there was no transportation arranged for her from the airport to the hotel, despite a prior request. She had to take a local taxi, which was also expensive and took an hour to reach the hotel.

“Although we had requested to arrange transportation from the airport to the hotel, there has been no contact from the Indian side,” she wrote.

To her dismay, she discovered that there were no rooms available at the hotel, even though she had made a reservation. She had to wait in the lobby for four hours, along with her coach and other Japanese players, while the Badminton Association of India (BAI) tried to find an alternate accommodation for them.

During this time, an Indian Association person came out of the hotel and asked Okuhara for a photo, which she refused, saying that she was not in a good condition and needed a room urgently.

“Wait a minute. We’re not alright right now, and we haven’t made a reservation and there’s no hotel to stay at. Can you do something about it?’ I asked for help,” she wrote.

Okuhara then reached out to PV Sindhu who offered to help her. Sindhu, who is a good friend of Okuhara and has played many memorable matches against her, contacted the BAI and tried to arrange a room for her.

Before Sindhu could do that, the BAI finally found a room for Okuhara and her coach at another hotel, where they moved after waiting for four hours. Okuhara thanked the hotel staff who gave her water and showed kindness to her during her wait.

“Even though I was occupying the sofa in the lobby for four hours at that first hotel, I was really helped by the kindness of the hotel staff who even gave me water at the end without saying a word,” she wrote.

The next day, Okuhara wanted to practice at the venue, but was told that the shuttle would only arrive at 9 AM, instead of the 7 AM that she had requested. She then spoke to HS Prannoy, another Indian shuttler who is close to her, and asked him to help her.

Prannoy, who had also faced similar issues in India, convinced the hotel staff to arrange a car for Okuhara and her coach for a week, so that they could travel to the venue at their convenience. Okuhara thanked Prannoy for his help and said that he and Sindhu were her “saviours”.

“I think I can survive somehow with the help of Sindhu and Prannoy! Well, it was the worst itinerary ever, but I’m glad I met good people,” she wrote.

However, BAI secretary general Sanjay Mishra said that the Japanese shuttler didn’t send any email informing the logistical details, and that it was a technical issue and a matter of miscommunication.

“I understand what Okuhara must have been through, but the fact is we didn’t receive any email regarding accommodation or transportation from her end. It is a technical issue and a matter of miscommunication. We had no information,” Mishra told news agency PTI.

Mishra termed it as an unfortunate incident, and promised that nothing of this sort will happen in future.

“It is unfortunate but the moment I came to know about it I spoke to the organisers and provided all help. She is a big player and our guest and we will ensure nothing of this sort happens in future,” he said.

Mishra also said that such an incident wouldn’t have occurred in first place if it was an entire contingent travelling, because the manager of the squad then takes care of the logistical details.

“If it is an entire team then the team manager contacts the organising committee and things are arranged immediately but she was alone and she didn’t contact, so organisers didn’t know when she was arriving. It didn’t happen on purpose, it happened by mistake,” he said.

Mishra added that Okuhara could have just called someone like an organising secretary or competition manager after arriving in Delhi, and that it happens sometimes when they travel overseas for an event and there is no one to receive.

“After arriving in Delhi, she (Okuhara) could have just called someone like an organising secretary or competition manager. It happens sometimes when we travel overseas for an event and there is no one to receive. Nevertheless, it won’t happen again,” he said.

Organising secretary Nileen Kumar, who is also a BAI executive council member, said that he had met Okuhara at the hotel, and that they had offered their help.

“I saw her sitting there in the hotel lobby. BAI joint secretary Prabhakar Rao was also there and we offered our help,” he said.

Kumar also said that players have to send requests for accommodation in a BWF form, but they didn’t receive any such communication from Okuhara. He said that it was the same for everyone, and that since there was no request, there was no room booked for her. He said that other players, who came from 30 other countries, didn’t face any such problem.

“Players have to send requests for accommodation in a BWF form but we didn’t receive any such communication from her. It is the same for everyone. Since there was no request, there was no room booked for her. Other players, who came from 30 other countries didn’t face any such problem,” he said.

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