NEW DELHI: After the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, the Hero Women’s Indian Open golf is also looking at moving the tournament to a “new window” from next year on account of the hazardous air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR) at this time of year.
“We are looking at a pre-Diwali week, probably October 24-27, but (tour) schedules need to be taken into account as well,” Champika Sayal, secretary general of the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI) told Hindustan Times.
Tournament director Joao Pinto of the Ladies European Tour (LET) put things in perspective, telling HT, “While some are concerned, others are okay. The conditions are not ideal, but they (players) have been through worse. A couple of years ago, the air quality during an event in Beijing was worse.”
Delhi Half Marathon organiser Procam’s joint managing director Vivek Singh was recently quoted in the media as stating, “There is a possibility to shift this event to a new window… we may organise the event earlier or later. We have the option of the alternative window. We will discuss with our stakeholders and see which will the best window for the event.”
Airtel, who are title sponsors of the Delhi Half Marathon for the tenth year running, had earlier said they would have to rethink their association from next year, citing the unacceptable pollution levels in the city, but came out in support of the organisers on Thursday.
“As always, we will continue to support the event. It is great to see the fantastic response to the call for registration for ADHM,” said Ravi Negi, CEO of Bharti Airtel, Delhi NCR.”
