India, Aug. 17 -- The BWF World Championships returned to India after 17 years, and there was plenty of anticipation among the home fans as they waited to see the Indian shuttlers in action. Though the day 1 began at 09:00 AM, the Indira Gandhi Arena started filling up around 4:30 pm. Several sections of the stands remained empty to boot. That was perhaps understandable on the opening day, but if the tournament is unable to draw even 60-70 per cent occupancy on a day when a tournament of such stature is happening in the country for the first time since 2009, it also highlights the need to do more to attract attention towards the event.

There were international fans in the arena too, with some turning up to cheer for Japanese, Danish and ...