India Open 2026: From bird beats to monkeys in the stands and pollution… India Open 2026 organized in Delhi is surrounded in controversies.

India Open 2026 : The India Open Super 750 badminton tournament being played in Delhi has witnessed a series of organizational deficiencies, poor conditions and shocking incidents, with players continuously raising objections. These include issues ranging from bird droppings to monkeys in the stands and pollution. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena UBT leader Priyanka Chaturvedi has also raised these issues.

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Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote in X Post on Friday, “Dreaming of Olympics? Building world class infrastructure? International badminton matches stopped due to bird droppings. Monkeys seen in the stands. International players are withdrawing from tournaments due to air pollution in Delhi, while some players are talking about the lack of proper infrastructure. All this is happening at the India Open Super 750 in Delhi.”

Dreaming Olympics? ✅
Creating world class infra? ❎
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…

— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) January 16, 2026

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Match between India and Singapore stopped

The second round match between India’s HS Prannoy and Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew on Thursday (January 15) was suddenly stopped at the stadium. Play on Court 1 was affected twice because bird droppings were falling from the ceiling onto the playing area. This incident has raised serious questions on the safety of the players and administrative shortcomings. This comes at a time when the World Championships are scheduled to be held later this year at the same venue, the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium – a tournament that India will host after 17 years.

The video of this incident is becoming increasingly viral on social media. In which officials were seen cleaning the affected area with tissues and wipes. After the loss in the match, Indian player Prannoy said, “It was the bird’s beat due to which the game stopped.” Loh became uncomfortable looking at the ceiling and felt disgusted when he looked at the floor.

Monkey seen in the stand and also complaint about pollution

Moreover, the officials faced another embarrassment when a monkey was spotted in the spectators’ gallery during a match of the tournament on Wednesday. This incident attracted everyone’s attention on social media. At the same time, former world champion Loh talked about the impact of Delhi’s pollution on his physical health. Earlier, World No. 3 Anders Antonsen of Denmark had revealed that he had withdrawn from the tournament and was fined $5,000 by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) due to “extreme” pollution in Delhi.

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Another Danish player, Mia Blichfeldt, who had criticized the playing conditions last year, struck out once again after winning her first round. He said that despite shifting to the new hall at the IG Stadium, conditions are still bad. “I hoped it would be better than the other halls, but it is still very dirty, and the conditions for the players are really bad,” Blichfeldt told PTI in an interview.