By abandoning players, SAI rings alarm bells

There is something deeply unsettling about a country willing to spend an estimated Rs 20 crore on hosting badminton World Championships, yet leaving its players to worry about how they will pay for their next international tournament.

The SAI’s decision, ostensibly because of procedural delays in the submission of proposals by the BAI, appeared arbitrary and ran counter to the interests of athletes.

3 min readNov 9, 2026 06:45 AM IST First published on: Nov 9, 2026 at 06:45 AM IST

There are few things more unusual — and more dismal — in Indian sport than an entire contingent being left to fend for itself financially. Yet, that is what happened to the country’s badminton players during their four-tournament European swing, when government funding was declined just days before the Arctic Open in Finland. While individual athletes have occasionally struggled to secure financial support, it is rare for an entire team to be left without sanctioned funding for an international tour. The episode is particularly jarring given how India’s sporting ecosystem has evolved over the last decade, with government spending growing nearly four times, from Rs 1,156 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 4,479 crore in 2026-27.

Much of the subsequent debate has centred on P V Sindhu, with some questioning why an established athlete needed government assistance at all. But that misses the point. This was never about one player’s ability to pay for her own travel. It was about creating a system in which every athlete, irrespective of their financial standing, has access to consistent support. Sindhu underlined this when she pointed to the younger generation — the likes of Ayush Shetty and Tanvi Sharma — needing institutional backing to pursue their ambitions. Modern sport is not simply about paying for flights and hotel rooms. Competing at the highest level requires a team of coaches, physiotherapists and other support personnel who help athletes prepare and perform. The uncertainty this time also extended to the junior circuit, with India’s 30-member contingent for the World Junior Championships in Cairo nearly missing the event after funding clearance failed to arrive before departure. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) eventually scrambled to raise the money, but the episode was unseemly.

The SAI’s decision, ostensibly because of procedural delays in the submission of proposals by the BAI, appeared arbitrary and ran counter to the interests of athletes. It also exposed the federation’s helplessness: An organisation responsible for India’s badminton programme could not ensure that its own players had the resources to compete. The episode should serve as an alarm bell for national federations to build financial models that make them less dependent on government largesse. Public funding will remain essential, but federations must find ways to sustain their programmes. There is something deeply unsettling about a country willing to spend an estimated Rs 20 crore on hosting badminton World Championships, yet leaving its players to worry about how they will pay for their next international tournament.