‘Don’t understand the outrage’: P V Sindhu compares ‘monkey whisperers’ at BWF Worlds with Wimbledon

The badminton tournament is set to begin on August 17, with organisers taking extra precautions after a monkey and pigeons disrupted the India Open earlier this year. Four men have reportedly been hired to imitate langur calls and scare monkeys away from the venue.

Watch the video:

3 men will have a unique job at the BWF World Championship starting next week in Delhi.
Imitate langur calls at the Indira Gandhi Stadium to keep away rhesus macaques (who dread langurs) from the venue.
Decision made after a monkey gatecrashed the India Open earlier this year. pic.twitter.com/4IGyvQhyQD

— jonathan selvaraj (@jon_selvaraj) August 10, 2026

‘Just one additional measure’

The unusual measure quickly became a talking point online, with several users questioning the need for “monkey whisperers”. Sports journalist Boria Majumdar, however, urged people to look beyond the novelty of the arrangement.

“Monkey whisperers? So what? Let’s focus on making the World Championships a success,” Majumdar wrote.

Sindhu backed his view, pointing out that major sporting events often face challenges specific to their surroundings.

“I genuinely don’t understand the outrage. We all love Wimbledon, and they’ve had Rufus the hawk keeping pigeons away for years. Every major sporting event has its own local challenges. This is just one additional measure on top of the countless measures already being taken. Somehow that becomes the talking point,” Sindhu wrote in an X post.

Read the post:

100%. I genuinely don’t understand the outrage.

We all love Wimbledon, and they’ve had Rufus the hawk keeping pigeons away for years. Every major sporting event has its own local challenges.

This is just one additional measure on top of the countless measures already being… https://t.co/M64eyyPXBx

— PV Sindhu (@Pvsindhu1) August 12, 2026

“Can’t wait for the world to experience Indian hospitality. I’m 100% sure we’re going to deliver a world-class World Championships,” she added.

This is not the first time Sindhu has defended the unusual arrangement. A few days ago, she described it as a “uniquely Indian” solution while highlighting the effort going into preparations for the tournament.

“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,” she had said.

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. Our solutions may be uniquely Indian, but so are our warmth, our spirit and our hospitality.

Can’t wait for the… https://t.co/ORDFuAkITL

— PV Sindhu (@Pvsindhu1) August 10, 2026

‘A very practical solution’

Her latest post has since triggered another round of discussion online, with some users supporting her point while others remained unconvinced by the comparison.

“I mostly agree but there’s a big difference between Rufus the Hawk and guys imitating langurs. I know which one I would prefer to keep pigeons away,” one user wrote.

“We Indians somehow keeping pulling ourselves down. If its Indian it will be low quality is our default thinking,” said another.

“This is actually a very practical solution, and the visual of trained monkey whisperers in official vests blending into a world championship setup is oddly cinematic,” a third user wrote.