PV Sindhu won her second BWF title of 2026. (BAI Media)
\n\nPV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen won the singles titles at the Hylo Open in Saarbrucken, Germany, giving Indian badminton two reasons to rejoice on Sunday. However, weeks prior, funding support was abruptly removed due to an administrative dispute, leaving the nation's shuttlers to pay for their European campaign on their own. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) refused to provide funding for the Indian contingent's European swing, which included four straight competitions in Finland, Denmark, France, and Germany, according to a report by the Indian Express. Only a few days prior to the start of the Arctic Open on October 6 in Vantaa, Finland, the players were reportedly notified of the decision.
\n\n"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.
\n\n"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…
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/sports
