What changed at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium
Sports authorities in India have overhauled the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi ahead of the BWF World Championships, which run from 17 to 23 August. Sanjay Mishra, general secretary of the Badminton Association of India, said wooden doors across the venue have been replaced with double-door systems that lock automatically, high-grade nets have been installed over openings where birds or animals could enter, and a non-toxic gel has been applied to surfaces and handles "where the pigeons could have landed" as a secondary measure. Ambar Pratap Singh, executive director of the Sports Authority of India, said in a social-media video that structural upgrades had been carried out at the three major arenas and that lighting had been fixed after players complained about shadows on the court during the India Open.
Why the extra measures were needed
The precautions follow incidents at the India Open in January, where matches were halted because of pigeon droppings on the court, a monkey was spotted inside the stadium, and air quality was widely criticised. The Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium was originally built for the 1982 Asian Games and later renovated ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Mishra said other possible entry points, including gaps in the roof and exhaust vents, had also been sealed or repaired in the latest round of work.
The langur-call controversy
Attention has focused on efforts to deter monkeys from the venue. A video showing a man apparently mimicking the call of a langur — large, long-tailed monkeys used traditionally in India to scare smaller rhesus macaques — went viral on social media earlier this week, and several Indian and international outlets reported that langur-call mimics had been hired for the championships. Two-time Olympic badminton medallist PV Sindhu wrote on X that "our solutions may be uniquely Indian," but Mishra said the association had not specifically employed anyone for that purpose, adding that because the stadium covers a large area a langur-call imitator was briefly present in the northern block. Langur cutouts were deployed across Delhi during the 2023 G20 summit for the same purpose.
The tournament itself
The BWF World Championships will feature 64 men, 64 women and 48 pairs across the three doubles disciplines, with An Seyoung of the Republic of Korea and Shi Yuqi of the People's Republic of China the top seeds in the women's and men's singles. Reigning men's champion Shi, 2023 winner Kunlavut Vitidsarn and 2021 champion Loh Kean Yew are among the men's seeds, while former champions An, Yamaguchi Akane, Ratchanok Intanon, PV Sindhu and Nozomi Okuhara feature on the women's side. First-round matches are scheduled for Monday 17 August, with finals set for Sunday 23 August; the event carries no prize money but offers the most ranking points of any competition alongside the Olympic Games.
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