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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.

Early Furnace

It seems Mumbai has entered the summer season earlier than usual, with temperatures already touching heatwave levels in the first half of March. The city recorded its second heatwave in less than a week, an unusual development that has raised concerns about how intense the coming months could become.

 

Meteorological data from several monitoring stations across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region painted a worrying picture with temperatures on an average shooting well above 40°C on an average. Even Byculla, typically moderated by its proximity to the coast, saw the mercury rise to 36.2°C. The coastal observatories reflected the same pattern of elevated temperatures. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature rises more than 6°C above normal levels. In some parts of the city, therefore, the threshold has already been crossed.

 

Equally striking is how early this pattern has appeared. Mumbai experienced its first heatwave of the season last week when temperatures touched 38.9°C, making it the earliest such event in at least a decade. Within days, another intense spell has followed, suggesting that the region may be entering a longer and harsher summer than usual.

 

The heat has not been confined to the city alone. The broader Mumbai Metropolitan Region, including Thane and Palghar districts, has also been affected. Pune, too, is experiencing temperatures above 35°C, well above what is typical for early March.

 

Night-time temperatures have also been unusually high, adding to the discomfort. When nights fail to cool sufficiently, buildings and roads retain heat, making the following day feel even more oppressive.

 

Meteorological explanations do not fully address the broader concern of extreme heat arriving earlier in the year. Over the past decade, India has experienced increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, a pattern widely linked to rising global temperatures and rapid urbanisation.

 

Cities such as Mumbai and Pune have been particularly vulnerable. Their expanding urban footprints, dense construction and declining green cover are creating ‘urban heat islands’ that trap warmth and amplify daytime temperatures. High humidity along the coast further worsens conditions by increasing the heat index - the measure of how hot it actually feels to the human body.

 

The implications extend beyond weather statistics. Heatwaves affect labour productivity, strain electricity demand through air-conditioning use and increase the risk of heat-related illnesses. Outdoor workers - from construction labourers to delivery riders - are especially vulnerable, as are the elderly and those living in densely packed housing with little ventilation.

 

Cities like Mumbai and Pune face a challenge that is no longer seasonal but structural. Urban planning must increasingly account for heat resilience: expanding tree cover, protecting wetlands that regulate local climates, designing buildings with passive cooling and ensuring access to shade and water in public spaces.

 

The calendar still reads March. If the thermometer is already touching 40°C, the real test of the summer has not yet begun.

 


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