Chaos at India Open: Birds, monkeys, poor facilities… - MPs raise concerns

MUMBAI: Amid the concerns and mismanagement reports about the organisation of the ongoing India Open 2026 in New Delhi, Congress Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi and Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament Priyanka Chaturvedi attacked the organisers and the government.

Chaturvedi emphasised that ‘world-class sports require world-class governance.’The proceedings of the India Open on Thursday were disrupted by cases of bird poop dropping on the playing floor, the second incident reported, with the first being the presence of monkeys in the stands. These incidents come after concerns have been raised by Danish player Mia Blichfeldt regarding playing conditions, and the withdrawal of World No.3 Anders Antonsen due to very poor air quality in the city of New Delhi.

On X, Priyanka Chaturvedi brought into focus the lack of infrastructure at the BWF India Open 2026. She indicated that this can raise questions when India plans to host the Olympics."Bird droppings halting international badminton matches. Monkeys sighted in the stands. International Players withdrawing from the tournament in Delhi due to air pollution while some players speaking about lack of proper infrastructure. It is all happening at the India Open Super 750 in Delhi," she said in her X post.

Abhishek Singhvi, also on X, spoke out against the conditions prevalent at the India Open, saying, "Organizing international events requires world-class administration, not makeshift setups."Bird droppings halting international matches. Monkeys in the stands. Players choking on pollution. This is not satire, this is the India Open Super 750 in the national capital. If we want to host the world, we must stop embarrassing ourselves before it.

World-class sport needs world-class governance, not jugaad," he said in his X post.

The Badminton World Federation on Thursday said it discussed the conditions of the India Open 2026 with players as well as teams, agreeing on the fact that they received both positive as well as constructive comments on the venue. Though the organisation pointed out challenges posed by the haze as well as the cold climate, they admitted the fact that the venue, the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, is a considerable improvement over the last one.The federation further stated that issues related to cleanliness and controlling animals were taken care of by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), and the response received at the event will help them work on further improvement.