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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.

From Jail to Top Seat

Updated: Dec 2, 2024

harkhand Mukti Morcha

In the hinterlands of Jharkhand, where dense forests meet rich coal seams, Hemant Soren has forged a political career defined by adversity and resilience - a testament to which was his remarkable comeback in leading the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led Mahagathbandhan coalition to victory in the recent state assembly elections.


The poll results were testament also to the steadfast loyalty 49-year-old Soren commands of the tribal communities of his state. Soren’s most recent political resurrection reads almost like a myth. Arrested earlier this year in a money-laundering case tied to an alleged land scam, he spent weeks in judicial custody at Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Central Jail. His detractors, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), seized the moment, framing him as emblematic of a corrupt political elite. Yet, as the dust settled from a bruising electoral battle, it was Soren who emerged victorious, leading the Mahagathbandhan to a commanding win, vanquishing a BJP campaign bolstered by national heavyweights like Himanta Biswa Sarma and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.


In the days following his release on bail, Soren had hit the campaign trail with a singular focus. His wife, Kalpana, had already taken up the reins during his absence, rallying voters with a narrative of victimhood and resistance. Together, they turned Soren’s incarceration into a rallying cry against what they framed as the BJP’s ‘divide and rule’ strategy.


The BJP’s campaign, focused heavily on the issue of Bangladeshi infiltration, failed to resonate with the state’s tribal heartland. Rhetoric about “mini-Bangladeshs” in regions like Santhal Pargana only deepened suspicions of a communal agenda, one that Soren skilfully countered with appeals to Jharkhand’s indigenous identity.


Soren’s political trajectory has never been straightforward. Born in Nemra, a village near Hazaribagh, in 1975, he was raised in the shadow of his father, Shibu Soren, a towering figure in Jharkhand’s political history and the face of the movement for statehood.


Hemant, initially an unlikely heir, was thrust into leadership after the untimely death of his elder brother Durga in 2009. His ascent to the top of the JMM, and eventually to the Chief Minister’s office in 2013, was marked by both opportunity and tumult—a fractured coalition with the BJP, a brief stint in opposition, and a pivotal return to power in 2019.


Over the years, Soren has cultivated an image as a protector of Jharkhand’s tribal rights. His opposition to the BJP’s attempts to amend laws protecting tribal land in 2016 cemented his status as a champion for his community. It is a narrative he has leaned on heavily, portraying himself as a defender of Jharkhand’s Adivasis against external exploitation.


Soren’s tenure as Chief Minister has been a mix of welfare-oriented policies and battles with the central government. His administration has expanded pensions, waived loans for over 1.75 lakh farmers, and launched schemes to bring government services directly to remote villages. At the same time, he has not hesitated to criticize the BJP-led central government, accusing it of extracting Jharkhand’s resources without fair compensation.


But Soren’s path has been fraught with challenges. Internal dissent within the JMM surfaced when his sister-in-law, Sita Soren, defected to the BJP earlier this year, reportedly after being sidelined in favour of Kalpana. Allegations of impropriety—most notably a mining lease controversy in 2022—have repeatedly tested his political survival skills.


Still, for all the controversies, Soren remains a figure of enduring appeal among Jharkhand’s tribal population. His earthy demeanour and focus on social welfare have cultivated a deep connection with his constituents. Over the past months, he and Kalpana addressed hundreds of rallies, casting the election as a referendum not just on his governance but on the soul of Jharkhand itself.


As he takes office for another term, Soren’s political legacy is far from settled and his battles with the BJP and federal agencies are likely far from over. Yet, in a state where the ground is both rich with coal and riven with fault lines, his ability to endure against odds both legal and political has cemented his place as one of Jharkhand’s most consequential leaders.

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