---
title: "Men trained to imitate langur calls patrol Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi; to prevent India Open monkey disruptions"
sdDatePublished: "2026-08-11T13:14:00Z"
source: "https://www.olympics.com/en/news/bwf-world-badminton-championships-2026-animal-control-langur-calls-monkeys"
topics:
  - name: "badminton"
    identifier: "medtop:20000847"
  - name: "Olympic Games"
    identifier: "medtop:20001177"
  - name: "sport"
    identifier: "medtop:15000000"
locations:
  - "Shahdara"
  - "India"
---


Men trained to imitate langur calls patrol Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi; to prevent India Open monkey disruptions

BWF World Championships 2026: New Delhi turns to langur mimics to tackle monkey menace

BWF World Championships 2026: New Delhi turns to langur mimics to tackle monkey menace

A small group of men trained to imitate langur calls will patrol the venue as organisers seek to avoid a repeat of the animal disruptions that marred the India Open in January.

The BWF World Championships 2026 will have a rather unusual line of defence when the action begins in New Delhi next week with a small group of men trained to imitate the calls of langurs.

The men have been brought in to deter rhesus macaques from entering the newly renovated Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, which will host the World Badminton Championships from August 17 to 23.

" Monkeys are absolutely terrified of langurs, ⁠which is why ​mimicking is so effective," Zafar, one of the men hired for the job, was quoted saying by Reuters.

"I have served ​in several government offices, and the idea is not to harm the monkeys, but just to ‌make ⁠sure they won't come."

Rhesus monkeys are considered a nuisance in New Delhi as they frequently enter buildings and confront people. Langurs, larger black-faced primates, are commonly used to keep them at bay.

"The (mimicry) skill has been passed down generations in my family," Jabbar, one of the men hired to ward off the monkeys, told the Indian Express. "I learnt it from my father, but don’t want my son to do it."

The unusual precaution follows an unwelcome appearance at the India Open in January, when a rhesus macaque was spotted in the spectator stands and practice hall at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium, part of the Indira Gandhi Stadium complex.

"You can laugh at the solution, but you have to love the effort," PV Sindhu posted on X. "So many people are working behind the scenes to make sure India is ready to welcome the world. Our solutions may be uniquely Indian, but so are our warmth, our spirit and our hospitality."

The incident was one of several problems that afflicted the Super 750 tournament, with badminton players and officials also raising concerns about pigeons inside the venue.

Delhi has used a similar, though more literal, approach to its monkey problem before. During the 2010 Commonwealth Games , real langurs were deployed at venues and other locations to scare away smaller monkeys.

The use of live langurs was subsequently prohibited in 2012 following government action under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Human langur-callers have since emerged as an alternative. Delhi authorities have previously used people capable of mimicking langur calls to deter macaques, including during preparations for the 2023 G20 Summit.

For the World Championships, however, the monkey callers are only one part of a much broader effort to overhaul the venue.

Significant work had been completed since the India Open, according to the organisers, with the world governing body conducting several inspections over the past seven months.

The renovations included deep cleaning, replacement of seats, sealing and improvements to the lighting.

Organisers have also applied an anti-pest gel to roof beams to prevent pigeons from perching inside the arena and leaving droppings behind.

Selvaamresh Supramaniam, a BWF events director, said he had not seen any pigeons or monkeys inside the venue during his most recent visits, although cleaning and monitoring will continue until the tournament begins.

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