{"id":1706,"date":"2026-08-15T08:50:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T08:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/08\/15\/delhi-fortifies-venue-to-keep-monkeys-pigeons-away-bwf-world\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T08:50:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T08:50:05","slug":"delhi-fortifies-venue-to-keep-monkeys-pigeons-away-bwf-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/08\/15\/delhi-fortifies-venue-to-keep-monkeys-pigeons-away-bwf-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Delhi fortifies venue to keep monkeys and pigeons away from BWF World Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"9fece8afa224fd09e54b043d0febfb58\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- NR ATF -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8898941184964366\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"4839033563\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>Delhi is taking a series of precautionary steps to keep monkeys and pigeons out of the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium before the BWF World Championships begin on 17 August. The move follows a series of wildlife\u2011related interruptions that marred the India Open badminton tournament held in the capital in January.<\/p>\n<h2>Venue upgrades and wildlife deterrence<\/h2>\n<p>The stadium, which first opened for the 1982 Asian Games and was later refurbished for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, will host the world\u2011class badminton event from 17 to 23 August. Organisers have replaced the existing wooden doors with double\u2011door systems that lock automatically, reducing the chance of animals slipping inside. High\u2011grade nets now cover any openings that could serve as entry points for birds or larger fauna.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to physical barriers, officials have applied a non\u2011toxic gel on surfaces and handles where pigeons are likely to perch. This gel acts as a secondary deterrent, making those spots less attractive to the birds that previously left droppings on the court and caused match stoppages.<\/p>\n<p>Other potential gaps\u2014including roof fissures and exhaust vents\u2014have been sealed or repaired, according to Sanjay Mishra, the general secretary of the Badminton Association of India. Mishra told the BBC that the stadium\u2019s large footprint required a brief presence of a person in the northern block who could imitate the call of a langur, a large long\u2011tailed monkey used locally to frighten smaller rhesus macaques.<\/p>\n<p>Ambar Pratap Singh, executive director of the Sports Authority of India, confirmed that structural upgrades have been carried out across the three major arenas within the complex. He also noted that lighting issues raised by players during the India Open\u2014specifically shadows appearing on the court\u2014have been corrected.<\/p>\n<h2>Historical precedents for animal control<\/h2>\n<p>The practice of using langur calls to deter rhesus macaques is not new in Delhi. During the 2010 Commonwealth Games, authorities deployed black\u2011faced langurs at selected venues for the same purpose. More recently, in 2023, life\u2011size cutouts of langurs were placed throughout the capital ahead of the G20 summit to keep monkeys at bay.<\/p>\n<p>A video that went viral earlier this week showed a man mimicking a langur\u2019s call, a technique traditionally employed to scare away smaller macaques that are common in the city. Mishra clarified that no dedicated personnel have been hired for the championships; the impersonator was present only briefly to assist in the northern section of the stadium.<\/p>\n<p>Two\u2011time Olympic badminton medalist PV\u202fSindhu, who will lead India\u2019s women\u2019s singles campaign, commented on the situation via X, noting that India\u2019s solutions may be uniquely local but reflect the nation\u2019s warmth, spirit and hospitality.<\/p>\n<h2>Broader challenges and the stakes for India<\/h2>\n<p>Beyond wildlife, the India Open highlighted other concerns that Delhi hopes to avoid this time. Pigeon droppings forced a men\u2019s singles match between Singapore\u2019s Loh\u202fKean\u202fYew and India\u2019s HS\u202fPrannoy to be halted twice. Air quality also drew criticism; between October and January, pollution levels in northern India routinely reach hazardous thresholds. Loh said he struggled to breathe and kept a mask on in his hotel, while Denmark\u2019s Mia\u202fBlichfeldt described the conditions as \u201cunhealthy\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>These incidents were particularly embarrassing for a nation eager to cement its reputation as a reliable host of major international sporting events. India is slated to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030 and has submitted a bid for the 2036 Olympic Games. Successfully staging the BWF World Championships without wildlife or environmental distractions is seen as a crucial test.<\/p>\n<p>The tournament will feature reigning world champions Shi\u202fYuqi of China in the men\u2019s singles and Akane\u202fYamaguchi of Japan in the women\u2019s singles. Indian fans will be hoping for a strong showing from Sindhu on home soil, adding further pressure on organisers to keep the focus on athletic performance rather than on any stray animals.<\/p>\n<p>With the stadium\u2019s doors now auto\u2011locking, nets installed, anti\u2011pigeon gel applied and gaps sealed, officials are confident that the upcoming week will be dominated by shuttlecock rallies and championship narratives, not by monkeys or pigeons.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ahead of the BWF World Championships, Delhi officials have upgraded the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium with new doors, nets and anti\u2011pigeon gel to prevent the wildlife disruptions that marred the earlier India Open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[1442,1585,388,1587,1586],"class_list":["post-1706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-badminton","tag-bwf-world-championships","tag-delhi","tag-sports-infrastructure","tag-wildlife-management","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}