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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.

Bollywood hopes for reforms, daily wagers, reduction in taxes

Updated: Nov 18, 2024

Bollywood

Mumbai: As Maharashtra gears up for the state assembly elections on November 20, the Hindi film industry in Mumbai hopes the new government will bring critical reforms for daily wage workers and policies to reduce financial burdens on the sector.


In five days, the state will witness an electoral battle between the ruling Mahayuti, comprising BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP, and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi led by the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP). Actor Suresh Oberoi emphasised the importance of voting, referring to it as a “national festival”.


“Voting is a national festival, and it is your duty to exercise your voting rights and strengthen the foundation of democracy,” the veteran actor told PTI.

Talking to PTI, actor Gulshan Devaiah said, “Elections are a hallmark of a good democracy, and it is the people’s right. No matter what problems we may have with each other, electorally and ideologically, we can hold free and fair elections, so that’s quite amazing.” Film producer Boney Kapoor echoed similar sentiments.


“It is the right of every citizen of this country to vote and elect a leader and make the government machinery as democratic as possible,” he said. Governance focused on development and welfare is paramount, filmmaker Subhash Ghai said.


“I don’t belong to any political party; Maharashtra is my karma bhoomi. Whoever thinks about the state’s development should be our leader, irrespective of the party. It is important to vote first, and we all should do that,” he said.


For stakeholders, the lack of government support for daily wagers in the industry is one of the main concerns. The issue came to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic when everything came to a grinding halt in the Bollywood dream factory.


B N Tiwari, president of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), pointed out that despite numerous appeals to political leaders for assistance, little has been done to secure job stability for daily wagers.


“They need all sorts of help from the film industry, but they (political leaders) never think about us. We have written to them numerous times to implement the PPF scheme for workers, provide them with job security, etc. We fail to understand why those who talk about helping the poor people don’t do anything for them,” Tiwari told PTI.


He said the plight of daily wagers in the film industry has gone unnoticed as many continue to face economic hardships after the COVID-19 pandemic.


Devaiah, best known for his work in “Badhaai Do”, “Dahaad”, and “Guns & Gulaabs”, highlighted the inadequacies of support systems in place for workers since the pandemic.


“When I came in 2008 (to Mumbai), a lot of systems were in place. Post-COVID-19, several workers are not doing well financially, so some schemes for them will be good. I got a circular from the union asking for donations (for workers), and it is possible that these unions don’t have enough funds,” he said.


Mumbai, hailed as the heart of Bollywood, is facing a crisis in its film infrastructure, Tiwari claimed, referring to the iconic Film City in suburban Mumbai. In a stark assessment of Film City Tiwari, he said the area has become a place that reflects “horror” more than “glamour”, especially compared to the well-maintained Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad.


“The state government is not thinking about Film City here. Considering the condition of the place, one can shoot a horror film there. There are so many sets in Ramoji Film City, all well-maintained. In the Film City here, nothing is worth a visit,” he said.


He pointed out that the Uttar Pradesh government is developing the largest Film City and providing subsidies so everyone will go there to shoot. “The Hindi film industry is synonymous with Mumbai, and people come to the city because of the glamour world. I hope the new state government will do something for it,” Tiwari said. The film exhibition sector is also feeling the strain, especially this year.

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