SAI funding withheld as Sindhu and Lakshya Sen win Hylo Open in Germany
PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen won singles titles at the Hylo Open in Germany on Sunday, concluding India’s four-tournament European swing that coincided with the Sports Authority of India withholding funding for travel, food and accommodation.
The funding was not released for the campaign across Finland, Denmark, France and Germany and players were notified only days before the Arctic Open began in Vantaa on October 6, leaving little time to make alternative arrangements. The Badminton Association of India told players it would arrange accommodation for the opening tournament in Finland but expected them to cover costs for the remaining events. Sindhu, who also reached the final of the French Open earlier in the campaign, said she was surprised when she learnt that the funding had not come through: "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," Sindhu told The Indian Express. "But 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. Obviously, it was surprising that we couldn't get the funding, whatever the reason may have been. I managed the funding on my own a bit and OGQ (Olympic Gold Quest, her backers) also helped me in this."
The lack of funds affected on-court support, with some players unable to afford to travel with their coaches. Ashmita Chaliha, who beat world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi at the French Open, had teammate Isharani Baruah in her corner during that tournament, while Tanvi Sharma competed without a coach at the Denmark Open.
The funding decision prompted questions inside Indian badminton, with some officials linking the withdrawal to the team's performance at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where India failed to win an individual badminton medal for the first time since 2014. A senior SAI official denied any connection to the Asian Games and told The Indian Express that the funding was withheld because the BAI had failed to submit the required proposal within the stipulated timeline. The official said SAI’s funding guidelines require federations to submit proposals 30 days before a tournament after the timeline was revised from earlier deadlines of 90 days and 60 days, and that the required proposal, including player names, was not received on time.
Players nevertheless recorded notable results during the swing: Sindhu reached the French Open final, where she lost to South Korea's An Se-young, and Chaliha registered a win over Akane Yamaguchi at the same event. Anmol Kharb reached the semi-finals of the Hylo Open. Lakshya Sen won the men's singles crown in Germany, ending a year-long wait for a title, while Sindhu claimed the women's title in Germany to secure her second win of the year. The Hylo Open victory was the first time since 2017 that Sindhu had won two BWF World Tour titles at Super 500 level or above in a calendar year, and it helped her return to No. 6 in the world rankings while improving her chances of qualifying for the World Tour Finals.
SAI has since told The Indian Express that funding for upcoming tournaments has been restored but that players will not be reimbursed for expenses incurred during the European campaign. Sindhu reiterated her approach to the situation, saying: "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."
