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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.

Cable Wars in the Deep

Updated: Feb 27, 2025

As tensions simmer in the Taiwan Strait yet again, the battle for undersea cables signals a new front in the geopolitical brinkmanship between China and Taiwan.

Taiwan

In the contest for Taiwan’s future, China has mastered the art of subtle yet insidious pressure. From balloon overflights to sand dredging, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has perfected aggressive ‘grey zone’ tactics. The latest manifestation of this strategy has surfaced, quite literally, in the waters of the Taiwan Strait, where repeated damage to undersea communication cables has heightened fears of Chinese sabotage.


The Taiwan Straits has long been a geopolitical powder keg with its 110-mile breadth separating a self-governing democracy from an authoritarian giant that claims it as its own. Taiwan’s economic and strategic vitality hinges on a web of undersea cables connecting it to the world. Disrupting these cables is a calculated form of hybrid warfare to test Taiwan’s resilience.


The latest episode unfolded this week when Taiwan’s coast guard intercepted a Togolese-flagged cargo ship after a key undersea cable linking the main island to the Penghu archipelago was mysteriously severed. The ship, reportedly financed by China and staffed exclusively by Chinese nationals, had dropped anchor alarmingly close to the cable before communications were cut. Though Beijing dismissed Taiwan’s claims as political manipulation, Taipei pointed to a broader pattern of similar disruptions in recent years.


In early 2023, two cables near Taiwan’s Matsu Islands, critical links between the island and its outposts, were severed within a week. Taiwanese officials identified Chinese vessels as the culprits but stopped short of officially blaming Beijing. More recently, a China-owned, Cameroon-registered vessel was suspected of damaging another cable leading to the United States. Taiwan now maintains a watchlist of over 50 ships believed to be operating under “flags of convenience” - an obfuscation tactic allowing Chinese firms to avoid direct association with the CCP while operating in contested waters.


China’s denials are predictable, but follow a pattern of maritime intimidation. Beijing’s ‘grey zone’ operations, which fall below the threshold of conventional military aggression, extend beyond undersea sabotage. Chinese coast guard patrols near Taiwan’s Kinmen Islands (territory controlled by Taipei but located perilously close to China’s Fujian province) have intensified. These so-called ‘law enforcement’ operations, occurring four times a month on average, are seen by Taiwan as deliberate harassment aimed at undermining its sovereignty.


The cable disruptions have also drawn uncomfortable parallels to events in the Baltic Sea. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several undersea cables and gas pipelines were mysteriously damaged, with Moscow emerging as the prime suspect. Like Taiwan, NATO members feared these incidents were trial runs for more aggressive hybrid warfare tactics.


Why does China care so much about Taiwan’s undersea cables? The answer lies in Beijing’s long-term strategy. By interfering with communications infrastructure, China signals its ability to sever Taiwan’s lifeline in the event of a conflict. The cables are crucial not just for internet access but also for financial markets, military coordination, and government communications. In a full-scale blockade scenario - one of Beijing’s most likely invasion strategies - Taiwan’s isolation would begin with the snipping of these fiber-optic arteries.


Taipei is responding with vigilance. The government has ramped up patrols, fortified its monitoring of suspect vessels and pushed for greater international awareness. Yet, as tensions rise, so does the risk of miscalculation.


Undersea cables have long been a battleground in modern geopolitics. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in deep-sea espionage, tapping each other’s communication lines. Today, a new version of that contest is playing out in the Taiwan Strait. The difference now is that China’s goal is not merely surveillance but disruption, coercion and ultimately, dominance.


If Beijing is testing the limits of what it can get away with, Taiwan’s response will set a precedent. The next phase of the island’s struggle for sovereignty may not be fought in the air or on land, but the murky depths of the sea.

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