India’s leading badminton players, including P.V. Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty, will aim for strong performances at the Hylo Open 2026, scheduled from October 27 to November 1 at the Saarlandhalle in Saarbrücken, Germany.
The BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament offers total prize money of USD 500,000, an increase from last year’s USD 475,000 purse. The competition regained its Super 500 status for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Sindhu enters the tournament with renewed confidence following an impressive runner-up finish at the French Open Super 750.
The two-time Olympic medallist challenged world No. 1 An Se Young in the final, winning the opening game before suffering a 16-21, 21-11, 21-12 defeat.
It was only the second time in their 11 meetings that Sindhu had managed to take a game off the Korean star, who extended her remarkable winning streak to 50 matches.
Ranked 11th in the world, Sindhu had earlier defeated Japan’s Hina Akechi in the semifinals. She also claimed the Japan Open title in July and will hope to continue her impressive form in Germany after missing last year’s Hylo Open through a foot injury.
Another Indian player attracting attention is Ashmita Chaliha, who registered the biggest victory of her career at the French Open.
The 27-year-old, ranked 36th, stunned three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi 21-19, 21-18 in just 37 minutes before losing to Nozomi Okuhara in the quarterfinals.
Ashmita had also secured her maiden World Tour title at the Korea Masters Super 300 earlier this year.
In men’s singles, seventh seed Lakshya Sen will look to recover from a disappointing French Open campaign, where he withdrew from his opening match on medical grounds.
Eighth seed Ayush Shetty also faces fitness concerns after retiring injured against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in Paris. He had earlier defeated fellow Indian Kidambi Srikanth.
The men’s singles field features top seed Anders Antonsen, Christo Popov, Alex Lanier and defending champion Jonatan Christie, alongside Naraoka and Toma Junior Popov.
Meanwhile, Unnati Hooda will aim to repeat or improve upon her semifinal appearance at last year’s tournament.
India’s singles contingent also includes HS Prannoy, Kiran George, Tharun Mannepalli, Devika Sihag, Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap, Isharani Baruah and Anmol Kharb.
Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian and Meghana will compete in qualifying, while Achutaditya and Arjun feature in men’s doubles qualifying.
With Sindhu carrying momentum and several emerging players looking to make their mark, India will hope for a successful campaign in Saarbrücken.
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