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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.

Congress sends a signal in Thorat’s promotion

Congress sends a signal in Thorat’s promotion

Mumbai: The visits of senior Congressman Balasaheb Thorat with Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday has set tongues wagging in political circles. Many believe that the party’s decision to anoint Thorat as its chief negotiator indicates that he would be the top contender for the Chief Minister’s post if The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) returns to the power.


Though few Congress leaders rubbished the rumours stating that almost all negotiations have been complete and that they are all set to announce the final list of candidates any day now, sources within the party claim that the reason Thorat has been given all powers because not only is he more accessible to all alliance partners and has a clean image free of controversies but also because ethe party High Command is projecting him as a possible Chief Ministerial candidate in case the Congress party wins more seats in the polls.


“Thorat comes from Western Maharashtra and is in good terms with Pawarsaheb. He had also increased the party’s tally in the last polls. Hence it is obvious like someone like him should be in talks with the stature of Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackaray. No one wants to interact with Prithviraj Chavan because he doesn’t have the credentials of Thorat,” said a NCP leader on conditions of anonymity.


Nizamuddin Rayen, Spokesperson for Mumbai Regional Congress Committee though prefers to differ. “All negotiations have all been done and completed. All four leaders of the party Nana Patole, Prithviraj Chavan, Vijay Wadettiwar, and Balasaheb Thorat have been involved in the negotiations and talks. The reason Prithvirajji isn’t much seen is because he has been given the task of creating the party manifesto,” he says adding that due to the Haryana results, the Congress party is taking Maharashtra very seriously and have appointment two external senior leaders, one ex CM and another a senior leader of the party in every division of the assembly constituencies.


“The Congress is a party which has many leaders who are both astute experienced and have a rich understanding of politics and coalition politics of Maharashtra. So, there is nothing much to read on who is being picked and who is not being picked,” says Nadeem Nusrath, General Secretary of Mumbai Congress and Spokesperson for Maharashtra.


“Balasaheb Thorat’s name is going around maybe because there others who are being given some other duties. Prithviraj Chahan is already preoccupied with writing the party manifesto which is also the most crucial job in an election.


There is Varsha Gaikwad,  who has caught the imagination of the Maharashtra voter by her Mumbai Nyay Yatra. All of these people are working as a team. And this team is going to deliver the results whatever matters in the end. It is not the question of who is good and who is bad in negotiations, it is just this that they are being utilised at the same time. They are all first among the equals.”

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