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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Applause for Cricket, Silence for Badminton

Mumbai: When Lakshya Sen walked off the court after the final of the All England Badminton Championships, he carried with him the disappointment of another near miss. The Indian shuttler went down in straight games to Lin Chun-Yi, who created history by becoming the first player from Chinese Taipei to lift the prestigious title. But the story of Lakshya Sen’s defeat is not merely about badminton final. It is also about the contrasting way India celebrates its sporting heroes. Had the same...

Applause for Cricket, Silence for Badminton

Mumbai: When Lakshya Sen walked off the court after the final of the All England Badminton Championships, he carried with him the disappointment of another near miss. The Indian shuttler went down in straight games to Lin Chun-Yi, who created history by becoming the first player from Chinese Taipei to lift the prestigious title. But the story of Lakshya Sen’s defeat is not merely about badminton final. It is also about the contrasting way India celebrates its sporting heroes. Had the same narrative unfolded on a cricket field, the reaction would have been dramatically different. In cricket, even defeat often becomes a story of heroism. A hard-fought loss by the Indian team can dominate television debates, fill newspaper columns and trend across social media for days. A player who narrowly misses a milestone is still hailed for his fighting spirit. The nation rallies around its cricketers not only in victory but also in defeat. The narrative quickly shifts from the result to the effort -- the resilience shown, the fight put up, the promise of future triumph. This emotional investment is one of the reasons cricket enjoys unparalleled popularity in India. It has built a culture where players become household names and their performances, good or bad, become part of the national conversation. Badminton Fights Contrast that with what happens in sports like badminton. Reaching the final of the All England Championships is a monumental achievement. The tournament is widely considered badminton’s equivalent of Wimbledon in prestige and tradition. Only the very best players manage to reach its final stages, and doing it twice speaks volumes about Lakshya Sen’s ability and consistency. Yet the reaction in India remained largely subdued. There were congratulatory posts, some headlines acknowledging the effort and brief discussions among badminton enthusiasts. But the level of national engagement never quite matched the magnitude of the achievement. In a cricketing context, reaching such a stage would have triggered days of celebration and analysis. In badminton, it often becomes just another sports update. Long Wait India’s wait for an All England champion continues. The last Indian to win the title was Pullela Gopichand in 2001. Before him, Prakash Padukone had scripted history in 1980. These victories remain among the most significant milestones in Indian badminton. And yet, unlike cricketing triumphs that are frequently revisited and celebrated, such achievements rarely stay in the mainstream sporting conversation for long. Lakshya Sen’s journey to the final should ideally have been viewed as a continuation of that legacy, a reminder that India still possesses the talent to challenge the world’s best in badminton. Instead, it risks fading quickly from public memory. Visibility Gap The difference ultimately comes down to visibility and cultural investment. Cricket in India is not merely a sport; it is an ecosystem built over decades through media attention, sponsorship, and mass emotional attachment. Individual sports, on the other hand, often rely on momentary bursts of recognition, usually during Olympic years or when a medal is won. But consistent performers like Lakshya Sen rarely receive the sustained spotlight that their achievements deserve. This disparity can also influence the next generation. Young athletes are naturally drawn to sports where success brings recognition, financial stability and national fame. When one sport monopolises the spotlight, others struggle to build similar appeal. Beyond Result Lakshya Sen may have finished runner-up again, but his performance at the All England Championship is a reminder that India continues to produce world-class athletes in disciplines beyond cricket. The real issue is not that cricket receives immense attention -- it deserves the admiration it gets. The concern is that athletes from other sports often do not receive comparable appreciation for achievements that are equally significant in their own arenas. If India aspires to become a truly global sporting nation, its applause must grow broader. Sporting pride cannot remain confined to one field. Because somewhere on a badminton court, an athlete like Lakshya Sen is fighting just as hard for the country’s colours as any cricketer on a packed stadium pitch. The only difference is how loudly the nation chooses to cheer.

A Ticking Time Bomb

Updated: Jan 30, 2025

As the embattled city of Goma in the Congo descends further into chaos, the world teeters on the brink of an Ebola catastrophe.

Congo

In the war-torn landscape of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where rebel factions are clashing with government forces, lies a ticking time bomb that has set-off alarm bells. In the confines of a biomedical laboratory in the heart of this chaotic city, deadly pathogens, including the highly contagious Ebola virus, are stored under precarious conditions. With power cuts threatening to compromise the integrity of the facility, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned if the virus escapes, it could lead to an unimaginable outbreak.


The National Institute for Biomedical Research, which houses the dangerous viral samples, is located close to the ICRC’s office, underscoring the proximity of the risk. The ongoing conflict between the Tutsi-led M23 rebels and Rwandan forces has exacerbated an already dire scenario. As soldiers and insurgents wage war, the civilians of Goma find themselves trapped in a nightmarish battle for survival, facing the dual threats of violence and disease.


The history of the DRC has long been one marked by instability. The Eastern Congo region, rich in minerals but plagued by a cycle of conflict, has seen tensions flare since the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which left deep scars in the region. The battle for control of mineral resources, exacerbated by ethnic divisions and the involvement of foreign powers, has created a perpetual state of unrest. The M23, a rebel group with roots in Rwanda, has capitalized on this instability, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. The UNHCR reported over half a million displaced individuals in the region just this year, adding to the nearly 700,000 displaced people already in Goma, struggling to find shelter in a city increasingly consumed by chaos.


At the heart of this crisis is the fragile healthcare infrastructure, now under siege. The Red Cross has voiced grave concerns about the safety of the biomedical laboratory, where Ebola virus samples are stored. The threat of power outages, exacerbated by the ongoing conflict, could cause the samples to deteriorate or escape, leading to an uncontrolled outbreak. This is a virus that has already claimed thousands of lives in past outbreaks. The 2014-2015 epidemic, which ravaged West Africa, killed over 11,000 people, and in its most lethal form, the mortality rate can soar to 90 percent without immediate treatment. The possibility of such an outbreak in volatile Goma already a city on the edge of collapse could lead to a disaster of biblical proportions.


The 1995 film ‘Outbreak’ starring Dustin Hoffman portrayed a race against time to contain a fictional virus in a similarly volatile African country that threatened to devastate humanity. Currently, the very real possibility of a biological catastrophe in Goma mirrors such films.


The Red Cross has not only warned about the Ebola virus but has also raised the alarm about the dire conditions facing the civilian population. In the midst of the fighting, hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties. The ICRC’s medical staff, who have treated more than 600 wounded civilians this month alone, report harrowing accounts of women and children caught in the crossfire.


Hospitals like Goma’s CBCA Ndosho are understaffed and struggling to cope with the influx of patients, many of whom are seriously wounded by gunshots or shrapnel. The healthcare system, already fragile, is now on the brink of collapse. One spark, whether it be a rebel attack, a power cut, or a lapse in safety protocols, could trigger a biological disaster of unprecedented scale.


The ICRC’s call for the protection of the biomedical laboratory is not just a plea for the safety of medical samples, but a warning of the potentially catastrophic consequences of inaction. As the world watches, Goma’s situation has become a stark reminder of the precariousness of global health security.

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