SAI withdrew funding as PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen battled financial hurdles to win Hylo Open titles

P V Sindhu and Lakshya Sen gave Indian badminton a reason to celebrate on Sunday, clinching the women’s and men’s singles titles respectively at the Hylo Open in Saarbrucken, Germany. However, behind the success was a difficult few weeks for India’s shuttlers, who were forced to finance their European campaign after government funding was withheld at the last minute amid an administrative dispute.

The Indian Express has learnt that the Sports Authority of India (SAI) declined to release funds for the Indian contingent’s four-tournament European tour, which included events in Finland, Denmark, France and Germany. Players were reportedly informed of the decision just days before the Arctic Open began in Vantaa, Finland, on October 6.

Sindhu admitted that the decision came as a shock but said she remained determined to compete.

“When I got to know, I was a bit shocked and wondered how the funding hadn’t gone through. I hadn’t faced something like that before,” she told The Indian Express from Saarbrucken.

The former world champion said withdrawing from the tournaments was never an option, despite the financial uncertainty.

“At that point, I couldn’t really decide that if there was no funding, I wouldn’t play. For me, the priority was to participate and focus on what I needed to do, how I needed to play my matches and keep on improving,” she said.

Sindhu added that she arranged part of the expenses herself, while Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), one of her supporters, also provided assistance.

The funding withdrawal has triggered questions about the circumstances behind the decision. Three officials associated with the administration of Indian badminton told The Indian Express that they suspected it was linked to the team’s disappointing performance at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where Indian shuttlers failed to win an individual medal for the first time since 2014.

“This is the first time such a thing has happened. There was no official communication explaining why this step was taken. It is suspected that the decision is linked to performance because, in terms of budget, it is not the case that the badminton federation has exceeded the limit,” the sources said.

However, a senior SAI official rejected any connection between the funding decision and the Asian Games results, blaming the Badminton Association of India (BAI) for failing to submit its proposal within the prescribed deadline.

The official explained that the earlier guidelines required federations to submit proposals 90 days before an event without player names and 60 days in advance with the names. Following requests from federations, the deadline was subsequently relaxed to 30 days.

“Even then, we did not receive the proposal. These new guidelines apply to everybody. If we don’t have the proposal with the names 30 days before a tournament, we will not process it,” the official said.

SAI has indicated that financial support for upcoming tournaments will resume, but players will not receive reimbursement for the expenses they incurred during the European campaign.

BAI general secretary Sanjay Mishra did not respond to calls or messages seeking comment. According to sources, the federation informed players about the funding withdrawal through a WhatsApp message. It reportedly agreed to cover accommodation costs for the opening tournament in Finland, leaving players to bear travel, food, accommodation and other expenses for the remaining events.

The financial crunch also affected players’ support teams. Several shuttlers travelled without their coaches because they could not afford the additional expenses.

At the French Open, Ashmita Chaliha had fellow Indian player Isharani Baruah in her corner during her impressive victory over Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi. Isharani effectively doubled up as Ashmita’s coach. Tanvi Sharma, who reached the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open, also competed without a coach to guide her during a match.

“The situation arose because of the funding cut. Who would bear the coach’s costs? The players couldn’t afford to pay for their coaches when they had to take care of their own expenses,” sources said.

The financial uncertainty was reflected in the participation numbers across the four tournaments. While the entire 26-member Indian contingent competed at the Arctic Open in Finland, six players withdrew from the Denmark Open in Odense, followed by seven withdrawals from the French Open in Paris and nine from the Hylo Open.

Despite these setbacks, Indian shuttlers delivered several encouraging performances on the European circuit.

Sindhu reached the final of the Super 750 French Open, where she lost to South Korean star An Se-young. Ashmita’s victory over world No. 3 Yamaguchi was another standout result, while Anmol Kharb progressed to the semifinals of the Hylo Open.

The campaign ended on a high with Lakshya Sen breaking his year-long title drought by winning the men’s singles crown in Germany. Sindhu, meanwhile, secured her second title of the year. It was the first time since 2017 that she had won two BWF Super 500 or higher titles in a calendar year.

The Hylo Open victory also strengthened Sindhu’s chances of qualifying for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals and helped her return to No. 6 in the world rankings.

Reflecting on the difficult circumstances surrounding the tour, Sindhu said her priority had remained her performance rather than the funding controversy.

“For me, the focus was on how I could improve my performance. That was the most important thing at the end of the day. See, these things keep happening, but they shouldn’t stop us,” she said.