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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.

"Exposes deep failures of state's law and order": Chirag Paswan requests Bihar CM to take strictest action in Muzaffarpur rape-murder case



Patna (Bihar): Stressing that the Muzaffarpur rape-murder case exposes the "deep failure" of state's law and order system, Union Minister Chirag Paswan has written a letter to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, calling for a strictest punishment for the accused involved in the incident.



In his letter, Union Minister Paswan also highlighted the negligence at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), where, he said that the victim was kept waiting in the ambulance for six hours without any prior treatment.



"The horrific incident of gang rape and attempted brutal murder of a 9-year-old Dalit girl in the Kudni area of Muzaffarpur district on May 26th has shaken the entire state of Bihar. This heartbreaking event is not just the savage killing of an innocent life, but also exposes the deep failures of our state's law and order system, social consciousness, and public health system," Chirag Paswan said.



"The victim fought for her life for six days, but succumbed on June 1st at PMCH in Patna. Unfortunately, the child was made to suffer and wait for a continuous six hours in an ambulance to be admitted to the hospital," he said.



The Union Minister also asserted that the accused who gang-raped a minor child are as guilty as the doctors and administrative staff of PMCH, who, instead of providing the necessary treatment to save the child, "abandoned" her in the ambulance and wasted precious time in her treatment.



"This is not just negligence, but a crime against humanity," Chirag Paswan said.



Further, he said that representatives from his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) have assured the victim of all possible justice.



"However, until strict and transparent action is taken against every culprit involved in this incident at both governance and administrative levels, justice will remain incomplete and unacceptable," he emphasised.



Chirag further demanded that all rapists involved in this heinous crime should be arrested promptly and given the harshest punishment, adding, "A high-level judicial inquiry should be conducted into the role of Hospital PMCH administration, doctors, and staff and criminal cases should be registered against the personnel who deliberately delayed treatment and showed inhumanity, ensuring their immediate suspension from service and strict departmental action."



The Union Minister also highlighted that this incident is not just the death of a child; it has become a symbol of the failure of Bihar's social system and the constitutional responsibility of the state.



"If the government remains silent on this matter, this silence will become the biggest crime," he said.



The accused had been arrested and sent to judicial custody, said Muzaffarpur SSP Sushil Kumar on Monday.



The Bihar Assembly elections are expected to be held in October and November this year, wherein the NDA, which consists of the BJP, JD(U), and LJP, will be once again looking forward to returning to power. In contrast, the INDIA Bloc will be giving competition to the incumbent Nitish Kumar government.

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