Bird poop stops play at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex at India Open 2026 badminton; ‘embarrassment for the whole country’

A couple of days after Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt complained of improper playing conditions at the ongoing India Open 2026 badminton, bird poop literally stopped play at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi on Thursday. The incident took place during a round of 16 match between local star HS Prannoy and Loh Kean Yew.

The BWF Super 750 tournament, which was hosted at KD Jadhav stadium till last year, was shifted to the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex from this year, after Blichfeldt had complained about poor playing conditions last time. Although the players got an upgrade in terms of stadium experience, ‘unhealthy’ and "unhygienic" conditions prevailed.

In a video shared on social media, the stoppage of play came in the first game when Prannoy was leading 16-14 against Kean Yew. The match had to be halted once again in the third game too due to the same.

The India Open 2026 has been in headlines for all the wrong reasons since its start. While Blichfeldt was the first to publicly speak about the