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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.

Bridges to Nowhere

In PM Modi’s home state of Gujarat, infrastructure collapses continue to be met with condolences, but its government refuses to rise to the occasion.

Gujarat
Gujarat

Another day, another bridge collapse in Gujarat. This time it was the Gambhira bridge—an arterial link between Central Gujarat and Saurashtra—that gave way without warning, sending three vehicles plummeting into the Mahisagar river. At least 13 people have died.


The bridge, built in 1985, had been crying out for help. Engineers, local leaders and residents had flagged its dangerous condition for years. A letter in 2021 warned of “unusual vibrations” while slabs were separating so visibly that one could see the river below. And yet, as with many such warnings in India, the file likely gathered dust. Cosmetic surface repairs were conducted, and the trucks kept rolling over a ticking time bomb until that bomb exploded.


The Gujarat government, led by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who also holds the Roads & Buildings portfolio, was hardly blindsided. A Rs. 212 crore replacement bridge had already been approved three months ago. But no urgency followed. Instead, the state chose to gamble with the lives of commuters.


The collapse of the Gambhira bridge is merely the latest addition to a gruesome litany of infrastructural failures in the state that Prime Minister Narendra Modi once governed and still touts as a model. In 2022, 135 people died when a 19th-century suspension bridge in Morbi collapsed days after reopening. The company responsible for its ‘renovation’ had neither structural expertise nor proper clearance. That did not stop the state from handing it the contract.


The pattern repeats with maddening regularity. In June 2023, a freshly inaugurated bridge in Surat developed cracks after the first spell of rain. In Palanpur, the girders of an under-construction highway bridge collapsed, crushing two people. In Valsad, parts of a yet-to-be-inaugurated overbridge broke off. In Tapi, a brand-new 100-metre bridge caved in entirely. Each time, a few engineers are suspended, the contractor is blacklisted, and the Chief Minister orders an inquiry that goes nowhere.


This is what governance by press release looks like. The Gujarat model, once lauded for administrative efficiency, now runs on the fumes of old slogans. Far from delivering on the promise of speed and scale, the BJP-led government is derailing under its own weight. Even Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress couldn’t resist a jab, posting a photo montage of the Vadodara and Morbi tragedies with the caption: “Double Engine. Double Disaster.”


It would be tempting to chalk these failures up to India’s broader infrastructural woes. But Gujarat’s failures stand out for their frequency, visibility and the absence of meaningful reform despite repeated loss of life. After the Morbi disaster, the state promised new policies and inspection frameworks. It even informed the High Court of measures to audit bridges under municipal control. And yet, just months later, Gambhira collapsed under a burden it was never built to carry.


The problem is structural, both literally and institutionally. Oversight is fragmented, auditing is perfunctory and political patronage allows discredited contractors to return through back doors. Even when blacklisted, companies often morph into new entities, aided by opaque procurement rules and bureaucratic complicity. Each time, the price is paid in corpses.


Prime Minister Modi, on a foreign tour, swiftly announced Rs 2 lakh for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured. But condolences are no substitute for accountability. Nor can compensation wash away the state’s culpability.


What Gujarat needs is not more ribbon cuttings or grand announcements but ruthless reform. Bridge audits must be independent, public and mandatory. Contractor histories should be accessible to citizens and courts alike. Departments must be held legally accountable for ignoring red flags. Infrastructure is about maintaining what is built. And that requires political will, not photo-ops.


Until then, India’s bridges will continue to crumble. And with each collapse, another warning will go unheard until it is too late.

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