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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.

Akhilesh wants 12 seats from MVA, points to Bhiwandi

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Akhilesh wants 12 seats from MVA, points to Bhiwandi

Dhule: The Samajwadi Party (SP) has asked for 12 seats as part of the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, party chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav said on Saturday, even as the alliance is yet to declare its seat-sharing arrangement.


Talking to reporters in north Maharashtra’s Dhule district, Yadav said his party has declared candidates for five seats.


Yadav said his party is the one that is satisfied with a few seats. “We have asked for 12 seats (as part of the MVA),” he said, adding that the SP has shared details of the seats where it has a strong presence.

The SP’s assertion has come at a time when the MVA constituents are in a stalemate over seat-sharing.

On Saturday, the SP declared the candidature of Irshad Jahagirdar from Dhule city, making him the fifth candidate of the party so far.


The party on Friday declared sitting MLA Rais Shaikh’s candidature from Bhiwandi East, Riyaz Azmi from Bhiwandi West and Shaan-E-Hind from Malegaon Central. The SP’s state president, Abu Asim Azmi, is a sitting MLA from the Shivajinagar-Mankhurd seat.


Yadav addressed rallies in Malegaon on Friday and Dhule on Saturday.


Talking to PTI, Abu Azmi said, “We have declared five candidates so that they (MVA) know that we are strong here, or else they will tell us in the meeting that your candidate is not very strong. We have shown that we are asking for seats where we are strong.”


He said Congress has not won the Bhiwandi East seat since 1999. “Only we will win this seat. They should not regret it like Haryana later (if the MVA fields a candidate from the seat),” he said.


Azmi said MVA leaders have spoken to him and assured him about seats.


Founded by Mulayam Singh Yadav, the SP is a constituent of the opposition’s INDIA bloc at the national level. The Peasants and Workers Party (PWP)and the left parties are also part of the MVA.


In Maharashtra, three parties - Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) -- which are also part of the INDIA bloc, are contesting the elections as part of the MVA alliance.


The assembly elections in Maharashtra will be held on November 20.


Maharashtra poll results will decide future of country: Akhilesh Yadav

“Maharashtra polls is the election that will change the politics of the country. This is a historic election. After the poll results, the BJP government will go and when the government in Maharashtra goes the (Union) government in Delhi will also collapse.” he asserted.


“When the (Union) government in Delhi goes, our CM (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) who takes a bulldozer with him will also go,” he said.


He urged his supporters to ensure defeat of the BJP and its allies in Maharashtra so that it can change the government in Uttar Pradesh.

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