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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.

Fragmented Fields

The century-old Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) faces an existential crisis as radical factions gain ground in volatile Punjab.

Shiromani Akali Dal
Punjab

The resignation of Sukhbir Singh Badal as president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), a once-dominant political force, marks a watershed moment for the 104-year-old party currently navigating stormy political waters in the Punjab. While Badal’s departure is being interpreted as a course correction, it underscores the existential crisis facing the SAD as it struggles to reclaim its relevance in a rapidly evolving political landscape.


For decades, the SAD epitomized Sikh identity, championing the community’s political and cultural aspirations. Yet, under the stewardship of the Badal family, the party gradually alienated its core base. Its poor electoral performances in successive Assembly elections in 2017 and 2022 and the dismal results in successive Lok Sabha elections has laid bare the disillusionment of its traditional support base.


The erosion of the SAD’s influence can be traced to its perceived deviation from Sikh ‘panthic’ issues. Under Badal, the party appeared more concerned with consolidating dynastic power than adhering to its ideological roots. The pardon of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 2007 blasphemy case, a decision taken during the SAD’s government tenure, provoked outrage within the Sikh community. The Akal Takht, Sikhism’s highest temporal authority, had declared Badal a tankhaiya (a person guilty of religious misconduct), demanding religious penance which he completed late last year.


Yet these attempts to seek forgiveness and restore credibility failed to resonate. The Badals’ influence has waned, creating space for radical voices and rebellious factions to fill the void.


The political turbulence in Punjab has emboldened hardliners and radical elements, with potentially destabilizing consequences for the region. Amritpal Singh, the controversial preacher and pro-Khalistan advocate who is the MP from Khadoor Sahib, has launched a new political outfit along with MP Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa (the son of Indira Gandhi’s assassin Beant Singh) despite being incarcerated under the National Security Act. His supporters, leveraging social media platforms, have galvanized significant youth backing.


The victories of independent candidates, including Khalsa and Amritpal Singh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections signal a significant shift that hardliners, long relegated to the periphery of Punjab politics, are now at the forefront.


Adding to the SAD’s woes, party rebels, unhappy with the leadership’s failure to fully implement directives from the Akal Takht, are deliberating on forming their own outfit. These developments threaten to further fragment the Akali vote bank, which had traditionally unified around panthic issues.


Simranjit Singh Mann, another hardliner and president of SAD (Amritsar), has also gained momentum, notably winning the Sangrur by-election in 2022. His calls for panthic gatherings to pursue Sikh sovereignty echo the ideology of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, whose bitter and divisive legacy looms large in Punjab’s political memory.


The region’s political instability is rooted in decades of economic distress and social upheaval. The state, once synonymous with the Green Revolution, is grappling with stagnant agricultural growth, mounting farmer debt and a deepening drug crisis. These challenges have left its youth disillusioned, making them susceptible to radical ideologies.


The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) sweeping victory in the 2022 Assembly elections, securing 92 of 117 seats, hinted at an impulse for change. However, the AAP’s governance has done little to address Punjab’s systemic issues, leaving a political vacuum ripe for exploitation by both hardliners and SAD’s rivals.


The Akali Dal’s predicament is further complicated by its strained relationship with the BJP. The alliance, once a cornerstone of Punjab politics, collapsed over the contentious farm laws introduced by the Centre (later repealed). Rebuilding trust with rural voters, who form the backbone of the SAD’s support, is a monumental task.


Punjab’s fragmented political field today risks exacerbating communal tensions, undermining governance, and alienating the state from national mainstream politics. While the SAD seeks to reclaim its panthic identity, it faces fierce competition from radical elements and former allies turned rivals.

The onus is now on the Akalis to rise up to the challenge or risk ceding ground to newer, more radical players.

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