PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen win Hylo Open 2026 titles for an Indian singles double in Germany
PV Sindhu beat Line Kjærsfeldt and Lakshya Sen beat Jonatan Christie in straight games in Saarbrücken, handing India both singles crowns at the BWF Super 500 event.
Indian badminton had itself a proper Sunday. At the Hylo Open, a BWF World Tour Super 500 event in Saarbrücken, Germany, PV Sindhu won the women's singles title and Lakshya Sen took the men's crown on November 1, 2026. Sindhu beat Denmark's Line Kjærsfeldt 21-12, 21-14, and Sen got past Indonesia's Jonatan Christie 21-17, 21-10. Both finals were done in straight games, and both champions walked off with the kind of scorelines that say the other side never really got a foothold.
For Indian fans who have spent a good chunk of the past couple of seasons refreshing results pages with one eye closed, this was the weekend to open both eyes.
Sindhu: clean, sharp and in a hurry
Sindhu came in as the second seed and played like someone who had somewhere better to be. She did not drop a game all week, clearing her semi-final against 19-year-old compatriot Anmol Kharb before meeting Kjærsfeldt, who had come through what the BWF itself called a sensational semi-final. The final lasted just 39 minutes.
The timing matters. Only a week earlier, Sindhu had reached the final of the French Open and finished runner-up. Turning that near miss into a trophy seven days later is the mark of a player whose form is building, not fading. This is her second title of the season, after the Japan Open in July. For a two-time Olympic medallist and former world champion, a second crown in a year might sound routine. It isn't, given how tough the women's circuit has become, and it suggests the old Sindhu is very much back in the building.
Lakshya: the long wait ends
If Sindhu's win felt like momentum, Sen's felt like relief. This was his first title of 2026, after a season of inconsistent results that had fans wondering when the breakthrough would come. He found it against Christie, one of Indonesia's best-known names, in a match that also lasted 39 minutes.
The first game was the contest. Sen led early, let Christie back in, then pulled clear and closed it out 21-17. The second game was a different story: Sen led from the start and never really let go, winning 21-10. Speaking afterwards, he admitted it had been a while since he had won a tournament and said playing this well felt good. That honesty is refreshing. Confidence has always looked like the engine of Sen's game, and nothing tops up the tank like a trophy.
Why this one matters for Indian badminton
Indian singles players winning on the same day at the same top-tier event does not happen every month. Doing it at a Super 500 event, the middle rung of the World Tour, means proper ranking points and a confidence boost for both players heading into the business end of the season.
It also matters for the wider squad. The Hylo Open saw a sizeable Indian contingent, and the sight of Kharb reaching the women's semi-finals, only to run into Sindhu, is a reminder that the next wave is pushing hard. A healthy domestic rivalry is exactly what Indian women's singles needs.
- Women's singles final: PV Sindhu bt Line Kjærsfeldt (Denmark) 21-12, 21-14
- Men's singles final: Lakshya Sen bt Jonatan Christie (Indonesia) 21-17, 21-10
- Level: BWF World Tour Super 500, Saarbrücken, Germany
The FHM take
Badminton loves a comeback, and this was two in one afternoon. Sindhu looks like a player rediscovering her ruthlessness, and Sen looks like a player rediscovering his smile. Neither result means the hard part is over, because the big titles still run through the very best in Asia. But if you had to pick a weekend to feel good about Indian badminton again, this was it. Keep the alerts on.
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