Raising more concerns about the readiness of the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi for hosting the upcoming World Championships, play was briefly interrupted during the women's doubles semifinal of the ongoing India Open Super 750 tournament on Saturday after some "particles from the bird's nest" fell on the court.
The incident occurred during the match between top-seeded Chinese pair Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning and sixth seeds Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee of Korea.
With the Chinese duo leading 6-3 in the opening game, the match was stopped for a few minutes as officials inspected and cleaned the surface. While the players initially indicated it was bird droppings, officials later clarified that the interruption was caused by "particles from a bird's nest."
On resumption, Liu and Tan went on to win 21-12, 17-21, 21-14.
The India Open, the first international event being held at the venue ahead of the World Championships in August, has been marred by complaints over air quality, extreme cold, hygiene concerns and the presence of stray animals.
On Thursday, a men's singles match involving HS Prannoy and Loh was halted twice due to bird droppings on the court.
An Se Young, Christie storm into final
World No. 1 An Se Young continued her imperious run, while Indonesia's Jonatan Christie showed his trademark resilience as they advanced to the women's and men's singles finals respectively at the $950,000 tournament.
Top seed and defending champion An Se Young, who has already won 11 titles this season and claimed the Malaysia Open Super 1000 last week, was in complete control as she swept past former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 21-11, 21-7 in the women's singles semifinals.
An will face China's World No. 2 Wang Zhiyi, who edged out compatriot and Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei 21-15, 23-21 in the other semifinal.
In the men's singles, third seed Christie recovered from an early deficit to outlast Singapore's former world champion Loh Kean Yew 21-18, 22-20 in 46 minutes to enter the final.
The World No. 4 Indonesian will face Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-Yi in the title clash. Lin outlasted Canada's Viktor Lai 21-9 6-21 22-20 in another semifinal which lasted just over an hour.
In women's doubles, Japan's Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto defeated second seeds Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia 21-16, 21-13, while third-seeded Thai mixed doubles pair of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran stunned top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping of China 16-21, 21-19, 21-16.
Japan's Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita also advanced to the men's doubles final after beating Malaysia's second seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik 21-10 13-21 21-11 in a thrilling match.
Denmark's mixed doubles pair of Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Bøje upset second seeds Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin of China 16-21 21-14 21-14 in 58 minutes in the other semifinal.
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