India’s poor showing at the All England Open 2025, in which none of any player progressed past the second round, represents a dramatic fall in the country’s badminton scene. Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the president of the Badminton Association of India (BAI), whose emphasis on politics over sports management has decimated Indian badminton, bears blame for this fall-off. Funding cuts, poor strategic planning, and less junior training camps under his direction have sharply lowered performance. With India’s BWF team ranking falling from sixth to fourteen, Sarma had to step down in order to bring back the old brilliance of Indian badminton.