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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.

Ceaseless Terror

Ceaseless Terror

The recent attack in Ganderbal, Jammu & Kashmir, where a doctor and six construction workers were killed, is a grim reminder of the region’s continuing struggle with terrorism. The assailants targeted a construction camp housing labourers working on a tunnel for the strategic Srinagar-Leh national highway, underscoring the vulnerability of civilians in conflict zones. This incident, the deadliest since the bus attack in Reasi in June which killed nine pilgrims, once again casts a shadow over the fragile stability in Kashmir, particularly in the wake of its new administrative setup following the abrogation of Article 370.


But while political leaders, from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to opposition figures like Mehbooba Mufti, rush to condemn the act, their statements highlight a persistent challenge: despite numerous security efforts, militants continue to strike soft civilian targets with chilling precision.


The attack came at a time when the government had hoped that the new administrative order in Kashmir, coupled with heavy investments in infrastructure projects like the Srinagar-Leh tunnel, would mark the beginning of a new chapter for the region. Instead, the death of the workers, many of whom had come from other states in search of better livelihoods, reflects a disturbing trend. Civilians —particularly non-locals — have increasingly become pawns in the militant groups’ strategy to create fear and disrupt efforts to normalise life in the region. This year alone has seen four major attacks specifically targeting migrant workers, making it clear that these groups intend to stir communal divisions and deter economic development.


The motives behind such attacks are manifold. First, there is a clear frustration on the part of the militants. The security forces, despite being stretched across the dense forests of Ganderbal and other difficult terrains, have made significant inroads, reducing the capacity of these groups to strike at hardened military targets. Attacking unarmed civilians, then, becomes their grim fallback option. Targeting construction workers also strikes at the heart of Kashmir’s development agenda, disrupting projects that promise to enhance connectivity, spur economic growth and draw Kashmir closer to the rest of India.


With the political environment still fragile, each such attack threatens to set back efforts to bring stability to the region. In the end, what is most tragic is the human cost. A doctor and six non-local workers who came to earn a living lost their lives in a conflict not of their making.


The perpetrators of such attacks may aim to destabilise the region, but their actions only strengthen the resolve of those who seek peace and progress. The challenge for the newly formed government now is to convert that resolve into action, ensuring that such attacks do not deter the march toward a more peaceful and prosperous Jammu & Kashmir. The government also needs to send out a strong message that innocent lives cannot be continued to be used as ‘collateral damage’ in a battle for the soul of Kashmir.

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