India, Jan. 16 -- The action at the $950,000 India Open - the country's biggest badminton tournament - has been nothing short of captivating but that is only if you have been able to look past the cold, the pollution, the monkeys, the pigeons, the bird droppings and the complaining players.

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand engaged in an unbelievable 103-shot rally against China's Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min - the tournament's longest yet - on Thursday. Reigning Olympic champion An Se Young has put on many mesmerising displays of her craft. Former world champion Loh Kean Yew has been putting in those massive jump smashes of his as well.

But no one is talking about the on-court action for a good reason. The focus has instead been on the p...