New Delhi: Indian badminton stars P V Sindhu and Lakshya Sen won the women's and men's singles titles respectively at the Hylo Open 2026 in Germany on Sunday, but their victories came after a difficult European campaign in which Indian shuttlers were left to bear much of their expenses following a funding setback.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) declined to fund the Indian contingent's four-tournament European tour, which included competitions in Finland, Denmark, France and Germany. Players were reportedly informed about the decision just days before the Arctic Open began in Finland on October 6.
Sindhu told The Indian Express that she was surprised when she learnt that the funding had not gone through. She said she managed some of the expenses herself, while Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), which supports her, also provided assistance.
The funding disruption reportedly left players responsible for travel, food and accommodation expenses for most of the tour. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) had informed players that it would arrange accommodation for the opening tournament in Finland, but they would have to meet expenses for the subsequent events.
The financial constraints also affected players' support teams. According to the report, some shuttlers had to compete without their regular coaches because they could not afford the additional expenses. During the French Open, Ashmita Chaliha had fellow Indian player Isharani Baruah in her corner when she defeated Japan's Akane Yamaguchi. Tanvi Sharma, who reached the quarter-finals at the Denmark Open, also competed without a coach guiding her during a match.
A senior SAI official told The Indian Express that the funding was not released because BAI had failed to submit its proposal within the stipulated timeline.
The official said the guidelines earlier required federations to submit proposals 90 days before a tournament without player names and 60 days in advance with the names. The deadline was subsequently revised to 30 days after federations raised concerns about the earlier timelines.
The official said SAI had not received the proposal with the players' names at least 30 days before the tournaments and, therefore, could not process the funding.
SAI also denied that the decision was linked to India's performance at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan. Some officials cited by The Indian Express had suspected a connection between the funding withdrawal and India's performance at the Games, where the badminton contingent returned without an individual medal. However, SAI maintained that the issue was administrative.
SAI has said funding support for upcoming tournaments will be restored. However, players will not be reimbursed for expenses incurred during the European campaign, according to the report. BAI general secretary Sanjay Mishra did not respond to The Indian Express's requests for comment.
Despite the financial uncertainty, Indian players recorded several notable results during the European tour.
At the Hylo Open in Saarbrücken, Sindhu defeated Denmark's Line Højmark Kjærsfeldt 21-12, 21-14 in the women's singles final. Lakshya Sen beat Indonesia's Jonatan Christie 21-17, 21-10 to claim the men's singles title.
The victories marked a significant result for India at the BWF World Tour Super 500 event, with both singles titles going to Indian players.
Sindhu had also reached the women's singles final at the French Open the previous week, where she lost to South Korea's An Se-young. Ashmita Chaliha's victory over world No. 3 Yamaguchi at the same tournament was another notable performance by an Indian shuttler.