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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.

Bhujbal opposes Maratha GR

Mumbai: In a major development food and civil supplies minister and senior OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal has opposed the government resolution (GR) issued by the state government in order to end the Maratha quota stir in Mumbai on September 2 and said that it should be quashed or modified.


In an 8-page letter written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Bhujbal has sought withdrawal or modification in the GR regarding the implementation of Hyderabad Gazette which may pave way for the Maratha community to get Kunbi (OBC) status.


“I’ve written the letter in my capacity as the founder-president of Akhil Bharatiya Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad. Our lawyers have prepared it. It has mentioned several legal issues in it. I presented the letter to the Chief Minister. He has carefully read it,” Bhujbal told the media after the cabinet meeting on Tuesday.


“The government came out with the GR on September 2. They should have ensured that it doesn’t make any injustice to the over 350 casts included under Other Backward Category (OBC) while issuing the GR. But it appears that the state government has not taken enough precaution. Hence, we are now demanding that it be quashed or corrected. We have given the letter stating so to the government. We shall also move the court on the issues raised in the letter,” Bhujbal added.


He stated that the GR was issued in haste, under the tremendous pressure of one powerful community, without it being put before the Cabinet, not considering any objections and suggestions. While stating that the Maratha community can be educationally and economically backward, Bhujbal added that it certainly is not socially backward community. He further pointed out that since Maratha community has already been granted 10 per cent reservation under SEBC Act of 2024; the GR is rendered unlawful as it permits the Maratha community from getting the benefit of two types of reservations.


The letter has also raised objection over the mention of Maratha community in the GR. “It should have been mentioned as OBC or Kunbi or Maratha-Kunbi or Kunbi-Maratha. But, these words have been avoided,” Bhujbal said.


“Secondly, the various pronouncements of the Supreme Court and the High Courts and the consequent Acts passed by the State Legislature streamlining the qualifications and procedure for obtaining OBC caste certificates have been ignored, and in so far as the Marathas are concerned, the GR dated Sept. 2 makes a departure from the established procedure for caste verification and obtaining caste validity for all castes. Having, two different procedures for the same class i.e. OBCs, amounts to arbitrary action and invidious discrimination which has no nexus to a common object viz. verification and grant of caste certificate,” the letter said.


It also mentioned that one caste could not have been singled out and be given a special treatment for facilitating the issuance of caste certificates to them, leaving out other reserved backward categories.


The letter mentioned that affidavit ‘cannot and ought not to form the basis of caste certificates or belonging to a caste’ – as mentioned in the GR.


“In any case, affidavits to be used to decide or determine the caste of an individual is an unknown concept or the determination of caste in India, especially when it concerns the establishment of facts to secure constitutional protection of reservation in education and employment,” it said.


Meanwhile, state minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the state cabinet sub-committee on Maratha quota, on Tuesday said that decisions regarding reservations are already being implemented and there is no question of a rollback.


Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee, Vikhe Patil said that OBC leader and state Minister Chhagan Bhujbal's "misunderstandings" on the issue would be clarified in person.


Vikhe Patil said, "The committee has kept its doors open for discussions with everyone. The effort is to preserve social harmony in the state, and the sub-committee is working on that line under the chief minister's guidance."


The meeting reviewed the implementation of the decision to issue caste certificates based on the Hyderabad and Satara gazetteers.

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