"Pathetic treatment to the athletes" – MR Arjun slams Orleans Masters management

India badminton star MR Arjun was not happy with the ‘pathetic treatment’ meted out to the athletes during the Orleans Masters 2024, a Super 300 event on the BWF tour.

Arjun lashed out, saying that players had to wait for transport in the “cold weather”. He also said that the organizers of the tournament asked the athletes to pay 85 euros each to go to the airport.

The 26-year-old Arjun dropped a series of messages on his official ‘X’ account to express his anguish over the matter.

“Now it is 4 AM and we all are waiting at the location for the bus to arrive. On speaking to the transport manager, he says the bus will come in an hour's time. There are about 20 athletes waiting since 3 AM. This is such a pathetic treatment to the athletes. Waiting in this cold weather at 3 in the morning for 2 hours is not a joke. That too sleep deprived," Arjun wrote.

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MR Arjun, Dhruv Kapila crash out

Arjun recently partnered Dhruv Kapila in the men’s doubles event at the tournament, but failed to go past the second round. In the Round of 32, the Indian duo defeated the pair of Kai Wei Tang and Lu MC in straight games. They won the match 21-13, 21-12.

In the Round of 16, Arjun and Kapila lost to the Chinese pair of Di Huang and Yi Liu 15-21, 17-21. Last year, the Indian duo won the Uganda International Challenge.

Arjun has had his issues with fitness of late. Back in the 2022 French Open, he sustained an ankle injury. Thereafter, he aggravated the injury while taking part in the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.

He returned to the court earlier this year in January while playing in the Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament.