Indian badminton enjoyed a memorable Sunday in Germany as PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen won the women’s and men’s singles titles at the Hylo Open 2026, completing a historic double at the BWF World Tour Super 500 event in Saarbrücken. It was the first time in four years that two Indians had won singles titles at the same Super 500-level event or above.
Sindhu struck first. The double Olympic medallist, who had finished runner-up at the French Open the previous week, produced a dominant display to beat Denmark’s Line Højmark Kjærsfeldt 21-12, 21-14 in just 38 minutes. In doing so she became the tournament’s first Indian women’s singles champion, a milestone that adds another first to a career already full of them.
Sen followed with an equally commanding performance. The 24-year-old beat Indonesia’s fourth seed and defending champion Jonatan Christie 21-17, 21-10 in 39 minutes, levelling his head-to-head record against the world number six and claiming his first title of the 2026 season. It was Sen’s second Hylo Open crown, seven years after his first at the same venue in 2019, when he announced himself by beating China’s Weng Hongyang.
The road to the final had tested Sen. He came through early rounds against Joakim Oldorff and fellow Indian Kiran George, recovered after losing opening games in three successive matches, and beat France’s Toma Junior Popov 21-17, 21-13 in the semi-final. The final, by contrast, was controlled from the start: an 11-9 lead at the interval of the first game, then a one-sided second game as Christie was forced into errors.
For Indian badminton, the significance goes beyond two trophies. Sindhu’s victory capped a two-week European run that showed her best form in some time, while Sen’s title ended a wait stretching back to the Australian Open in November 2025 and answered critics after a season of inconsistent results and early exits. He had reached the All England final earlier this year; now he has a title to show for the campaign.
The last time two Indians won at the same Super 500-plus event was the India Open in 2022, when Sen won the men’s singles and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty took the men’s doubles. Sunday’s double was cleaner still: both singles podiums, both in straight games, both in under 40 minutes.
Both players now leave Germany with momentum for the season’s remaining tournaments — and Indian badminton leaves Saarbrücken with a day it will remember. A Super Sunday, indeed.
