India Open: Animals & Badminton Surprises

[OSEN=고성환 기자] Kang Min-hyuk (27), a Korean national badminton player, experienced an absurd experience at the India Open.

‘Indian Express’ reported on the 15th (Korean time), “After complaints about bird droppings falling at the Indian Open badminton stadium, monkeys were even spotted. Korean men’s doubles player Kang Min-hyuk posted on his social media, ‘Are animals free to enter?'”

Currently, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) is holding the 2026 BWF World Tour India Open (Super 750) in New Delhi, India. This competition is receiving more attention because it will be held at the same location as the World Championships to be held in August.

This could also be an important rehearsal for Ahn Se-young, who missed out on winning the world championship last year. In the 2025 tournament, he was eliminated in the semifinals after losing to his ‘old enemy’ Chen Yufei (China), and Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) became the final winner.

Currently, Ahn Se-young has advanced to the round of 16 of the women’s singles by defeating Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara (ranked 30th in the world) 2-0. The next opponent is world number 38 Huang Yu-xun (Taiwan). Ahn Se-young, who recently won the Malaysia Open, aims to advance to the quarterfinals by overcoming Hwang Yu-xun, who defeated Kim Ga-eun 2-1 in the round of 32.

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However, regardless of the game content, this tournament is causing a lot of controversy due to stadium hygiene and air pollution issues that have been pointed out since last year. Last year, there was criticism that it was ‘messy and unmaintained’, but there was no improvement at all. As a result, players and coaches from several countries raised the issue again.

This year’s India Open is being played at the larger Indira Gandhi Sports Complex rather than the existing KD Jadhav Stadium. However, there are complaints among participating players that it feels like the shuttlecock speeds up as the wind comes in. During the match between Pusala Sindhu (India) and Nguyen Thuy Linh (Vietnam) held on the 14th, the lights went off.

Even monkeys appeared. Photographer Azlinna Dewi took to social media to reveal an image of a monkey entering the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex and sitting in the stands. A monkey freely roamed around the area where world-class badminton players played.

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A security guard guarding the entrance to the stadium said, “A monkey came into the stands and was sitting in the stands. It stayed there for about 10 minutes and was immediately sent away after being reported. It didn’t harm anyone. We couldn’t spot it because it was dark, and it was quickly sent away as soon as it was discovered.”

A monkey also appeared at the training ground, KD Jadhav Stadium. Kang Min-hyuk, who is playing in the men’s doubles as a pair with Ki Dong-ju, posted a video of a monkey proudly walking through the stands and added, “Are the animals free to enter?” Currently, the pair of Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju defeated Taiwan’s Li Fang-chi and Li Fang-jian in the round of 32 and are in the round of 16.

Azlinna Dewi, who saw this, shared the post and said in surprise, “There’s a monkey on the training ground court???” The monkey reportedly approached the audience and asked for food. This is evidence that even minimal stadium management is not being done properly.

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What is more serious is the hygiene issue. Danish women’s singles player Mia Blichfeld said, “The playing environment in India is really bad. Last year it was dirty and poorly maintained, and this year is the same. This is not an environment for playing. There is bird droppings on the floor, and the air is full of dust. Birds are even flying inside the stadium. The risk of injury is very high in these conditions. It’s so unfair.”

Sun Jun, coach of China’s men’s team, also revealed that masks are required to be worn in the stadium. He said on social media, “My throat hurts so much. I have to play with a mask on.” For this reason, Andes Antonsen (Denmark), ranked third in the world in men’s singles, accepted a fine of $5,000 (approximately 7.34 million won) and gave up participating in the tournament for three consecutive years.

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[사진] SNE Sports, dewismashes, Press Trust of India, BAI, Korea Badminton Association/BADMINTO PHOTO.

Go Seong-hwan ([email protected])