Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 16 : Congress Rajya Sabha MP and Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi flagged the organisation of the ongoing India Open 2026 in New Delhi, with the latter noting that "world-class sport needs world-class governance."
The observation comes amid reports of inadequate facilities at the India Open 2026 tournament, being held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
On Thursday, bird droppings on the court at the venue reportedly halted play during a match, while earlier monkey sightings in the stands had also been reported. Notably, this came after Denmark shuttler Mia Blichfeldt's allegation of poor playing conditions at the venue, which waanother Danish shuttler, Anders Antonsen, withdrawing from the tournament, citing severe air pollution in New Delhi.
On X, Priyanka Chaturvedi called out infrastructure shortcomings at the BWF tournament as India aspires 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.
https://x.com/priyankac19/status/2012012479296184754?s=20
Abhishek Singhvi, on the other hand, also criticised the poor conditions at the India Open and said that hosting global events requires world-class governance rather than makeshift arrangements.
"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.
https://x.com/DrAMSinghvi/status/2012010442244440523?s=20
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) said on Thursday that it has engaged with players and teams to review conditions at the India Open 2026 and acknowledged both positive and constructive feedback. While noting challenges due to seasonal factors such as haze and cold weather, BWF said the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex is a significant upgrade over the previous venue, meets field-of-play standards and offers improved infrastructure.
It added that issues related to cleanliness and animal control were addressed promptly by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), and that feedback from the tournament will be used to make further upgrades ahead of future events.