Tickets in hand, Home Minister P Chidambaram today walked into the Gachibowli Stadium here like any other spectator, sat in the stands with his grand niece for quite some time till he was spotted, and watched four matches on the final day of the World Badminton Championship.

Officials here called it a strictly private visit but others said that the Home Minister, by standing in a queue and sitting in the stands, was simply making a point after England, and later two Austrians, pulled out of the tournament citing security reasons. Organising secretary Punniah Chaudhary said they had no idea about his visit: “We were told that a VIP from Delhi would be visiting, we didn’t know it was him.”

Chidambaram walked in at 1.45 pm before the start of the first match — he went to the stadium straight from the airport.

When they did spot him eventually in the stands — he was clad in shirt-trousers and not his usual white mundu — he was led to the ground-tier seats reserved for VIPs. He later gave away medals to the men’s and women’s singles winners before leaving at 7.15 pm.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner S Prabhakara Reddy said the Home Minister’s visit to the stadium was a last-minute decision but the police came to know about it.

Chidambaram expressed dismay over foreign players pulling out over security concerns. “It burnt me inside to know that some foreign players had left the tournament and gone, despite our complete security assurances. I thought I should come here and compliment the Andhra Pradesh government and police. My special thanks to the Commissioner of Hyderabad and Cyberabad for full-proof security. It proves India’s ability to hold international tournaments in a safe and secure environment,” he said.

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