Delhi has tightened security of a different kind at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, where sports authorities have added new barriers, sealed openings and fitted anti-bird measures before the BWF World Championships begin on 17 August. The changes are aimed at keeping monkeys and pigeons away from the badminton courts when the tournament runs through 23 August.
That urgency comes from January, when the India Open at the same venue was marred by pigeon droppings on the court, complaints about air pollution and even a monkey inside the stadium. The new fixes include replacing wooden doors with double-door systems that lock automatically, installing high-grade nets over entry points, using a non-toxic gel on places and handles where pigeons could land, and repairing gaps in the roof and exhaust vents. Structural upgrades were also carried out at the three main arenas, and lighting was fixed after players said shadows had appeared on court during the earlier event.
The unusual preparations took on a wider public life earlier this week after a video of a man apparently mimicking a langur call went viral in India. Langur calls have long been used to scare smaller rhesus macaques away, and several Indian and international news outlets reported that men who imitate the calls had been hired for the championships. PV Sindhu then posted on X that India’s solutions may be uniquely Indian, but so are its warmth, spirit and hospitality, giving the effort a tone that was part practical and part national self-parody.
But Sanjay Mishra drew a narrower line. He told the that the association had not specifically employed anyone for the championships, saying only that a person who could imitate langur calls was briefly present in the northern block because the stadium is so large. That leaves the central question untouched: whether the viral figure was part of a formal plan or simply a short-term presence at a venue now being shielded as much from wildlife as from weather, light and the ordinary wear of a major international event.
The stadium itself has seen this kind of reinvention before. Built for the 1982 Asian Games and later renovated ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, it is once again being adapted for a tournament that starts now, not later. For Delhi, the point is no longer novelty. It is control, and the BWF World Championships will test whether the new doors, nets and seals keep the court clear from 17 to 23 August.
