India, Jan. 15 -- Danish shuttler and world number 3, Anders Antonsen, has served a wake-up call to Indian authorities about what the future could become if Delhi's air pollution goes unchecked. Antonsen withdrew from the ongoing India Open after citing "extreme pollution" in the city. "I don't think it is a place to host a badminton tournament," Antonsen, a four-time World Championship medal-winner, said. Badminton federation officials can fret over the shuttler's brutal but honest assessment of the city air and slap a $5,000 fine on him, but Antonsen is not the first to complain about the less-than-ideal conditions for playing sports in the national Capital, and he is unlikely to be the last.

In December 2017, an India-Sri Lanka cricke...