New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS) Amid concerns over badminton funding cuts involving stars like PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, the Sport Authority of India (SAI) quashed the reports that funding cuts came due to India's medalless performance at the Asian Games in Japan, attributing it to the Badminton Association of India's (BAI) failure to meet the 30-day deadline to submit its proposal.

"BAI did not submit their proposal within the pre-set time. Federations will also have to start acting responsibly," SAI sources told IANS on Tuesday.

Sindhu and Lakshya were crowned women's singles and men’s singles champions at the Hylo Open 2026, a BWF World Tour Super 500 event that concluded at the Saarlandhalle in Germany on Sunday. This is the first time in four years that two Indians have won two titles at the same BWF World Tour event at the Super 500 level or above.

As per the Indian Express report, SAI refused to fund the European leg of the Indian contingent, which comprised four back-to-back tournaments in Finland, Denmark, France and Germany. The players were informed about the decision only days before the Arctic Open began on October 6 in Vantaa, Finland, the report added.

But SAI maintains that the delay was due to BAI’s failure to meet the deadline, putting the onus on federations to ensure timely submissions and accountability.

"Earlier, the rules required federations to submit proposals 90 days in advance without names and 60 days in advance with the names. This was primarily because you could plan your trip well in advance. But the federation said it could not do it that early, so we revised the deadline to 30 days," a SAI official told IANS.

"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 added.

That financial strain also meant some players had to play without their coaches. While Ashmita Chaliha had fellow India player Isharani Baruah in her corner when she beat Akane Yamaguchi at the French Open, Tanvi Sharma, who reached the quarterfinals in Denmark, did not have a coach to guide her during a match.

--IANS

bc/vi