Organisers have hired mimicry artists to imitate langur calls and keep monkeys away from the BWF World Championships venue in New Delhi. The unusual move, prompted by an India Open disruption, has earned praise from PV Sindhu.
Ahead of the BWF World Championships, the organisers of the prestigious badminton tournament have employed professional mimicry artists to imitate langur calls to keep the monkeys away during the event at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
The World Badminton Championship is scheduled to take place from August 17 to 23, with around 300 players from 50 countries set to participate in the prestigious tournament. India will be hosting this prestigious event for the second time, after previously staging the BWF World Championships in Hyderabad in 2009
A total of 16 Indian players, including the 2019 World Champion PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda, the doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and women’s doubles duo of Gayathri Gopichand and Tereesa Jolly, will aim to lead the host nation’s campaign on home turf, carrying the hopes of passionate Indian fans across all five competitive categories.
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Langur Impronauts To Keep Monkeys Away
As India prepares for the return of the prestigious badminton event after 17 years, the organisers of the tournament have made extra preparations to tackle an unusual problem: monkeys entering the venue and disrupting the competition at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
To prevent such incidents, the event organisers reportedly hired three professional ‘monkey whisperers’ who mimic langur calls to scare away rhesus monkeys from the venue. In a video that went viral on social media, one of the three men demonstrates his uncanny ability to imitate loud langur grunts and hoots, which could prompt the monkey population to keep their distance from the stadium grounds entirely.
The main job of the three men is to spot the monkeys inside the stadium and utilize their specialised vocal skills to drive them away before they can cause any disruption to the players or the matches.
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The decision, which was apparently made after approval from the Badminton Association of India (BAI), stemmed from monkeys entering the stadium during the India Open earlier this year, highlighting the need for stronger preventive measures ahead of the World Championships
Since the India Open was also marred by poor training facilities and pollution in New Delhi, authorities are facing heightened scrutiny to ensure optimal standards and prove that lessons have been learned for the upcoming global showpiece.
‘You Have To Laugh at the Effort’
Indian badminton star and former World Champion PV Sindhu reacted to the video of one of three men demonstrating his uncanny ability to imitate loud langur grunts and hoots and lauded the unusual security measure on her official X (formerly Twitter).
“You can laugh at the solution, but you have to love the effort. So many people are working behind the scenes to make sure India is ready to welcome the world,” the two-time Olympic medalist wrote.
“Our solutions may be uniquely Indian, but so are our warmth, our spirit and our hospitality. Can’t wait for the badminton world to experience it all in Delhi. See you soon!” he added.
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At the World Badminton Championships, India won a total of 15 medals, including one gold, 4 silver, and 10 bronze, a legacy the team hopes to build upon on home soil. When India hosted the tournament in 2009, India didn’t win a single medal, despite having a strong home contingent, leaving the current generation eager to rewrite history and claim podium finishes in front of local fans.
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