Embarrassing: Workers mopping the wet court mat from dripping rain water due to a roof leak during the Malaysian Open at Axiata Arena. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: The second day of the Malaysian Open is likely to be played on just two courts following an embarrassing incident involving a leaking roof at the Axiata Arena.
A downpour on the first day of the prestigious US$1.45mil tournament saw two of the three courts played were soaked with rain water dripping from the roof.
The women’s doubles match between Malaysia’s Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing and China’s Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian had to be stopped on court two around 3.56pm.
Shortly after, court three was also affected, halting the men’s singles clash between Canada’s Brian Yang and India’s H.S. Prannoy at about 4:04pm.
Badminton World Federation (BWF) senior tournament series manager S. Selvam said one of the courts had to be closed due to severe waterlogging caused by the leak from the heavy rain.
“We are concerned about the wooden flooring underneath. While the court mat is wet, we have a standby court mat ready for replacement,” said Selvam during an emergency press conference yesterday.
“However, we are currently unsure about the extent of the damage to the wooden flooring, as the court mat has yet to be removed.Workers from the Stadium Board, officials from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and volunteers were seen trying their best to keep the affected area dry.
“The carpet surrounding the court mat is also affected, with some water present. The Stadium Board, BAM, and even volunteers are working together to mop, dry, and use blowers to remove the water,” said Selvam.
With only two courts available, Selvam said the incident had forced BWF to revise their tournament schedule and some of the matches suspended yesterday, will be carried out today.
It may see some players having to face longer waiting times before their matches, which could indirectly disrupt their focus and concentration.
Selvam however, clarified that the issue of a leaking roof affecting the field of play is not a new occurrence in international badminton tournaments.
“It is truly unfortunate that in my 18 years with BWF, this is the first time we’ve experienced a court leak at Axiata Arena during an event held here,” said Selvam.
“However, this is not entirely new, we’ve encountered rainwater issues at different venues around the world.
“The players understand the situation, and the referees have already informed the coaches and team managers about potential delays as we work to resolve the problem.
“As you know, in badminton, we don’t have fixed start and end times. Only the first match has a set starting time, and the delays tend to add up. We are ensuring that players have sufficient warm-up time for any matches that have been suspended,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Malaysia Stadium Corporation (MSC) explained that the Axiata Arena had been undergoing repair works, which had been managed by contractors appointed by the Malaysian Public Works Department (JKR) since April last year.
However, during this period, several events, including concerts featuring renowned artists held at the Axiata Arena, proceeded smoothly without any incidents.
MSC however, would take full responsibility and were working diligently to ensure that the Malaysian Open would proceed without any further issues over the remaining six days, leading up to the final on Sunday.
“What happened today is beyond our control,” said MSC chief executive officer, Ilyas Jamil.
“We had already reminded them (the contractors) to ensure, by any means necessary, that everything would be in the best condition and that there would be no leaks.
“Our job now is to ensure that this issue is resolved, the leaks are stopped, and the venue is ready for the event to run smoothly until Sunday.”
