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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.

Grandiose Gambits

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

As Maharashtra gears up for its Assembly elections, a familiar ritual unfolds: grand proclamations aimed at wooing key voter blocs. The state cabinet, under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, recently made sweeping promises designed to boost its electoral fortunes. Yet, such gestures beg the perennial question: are these pre-election pledges fulfilled once the ballots are cast?


The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP-led Mahayuti government is making sweeping promises, from raising the income limit for the OBC ‘non-creamy layer’ to increasing Madrassa teachers’ salaries. The proposed income ceiling jump from Rs. 8 lakh to Rs.15 lakh would extend reservation benefits to more OBC families. While it seems like a step towards uplifting weaker sections, implementing this solely for Maharashtra without similar changes in other states raises questions about its financial feasibility.


Beyond the OBC vote bank, the government has also turned its attention to the minority community, particularly Madrassa teachers. Their salaries were significantly raised, accompanied by an emphasis on the modernization of religious schools. While integrating modern education into Madrassas through the Dr. Zakir Hussain Madarsa Modernisation Scheme may be an admirable goal, the timing is telling. The cabinet also bolstered investment for the Maulana Azad Minority Financial Development Corporation. Additionally, welfare co-operative boards were announced for several other communities, with capital investments of Rs. 50 crore each. Given that the minorities voted against the Mahayuti in the Lok Sabha election, such initiatives are part of a broader strategy to court them.


Then, there is the draft ordinance to grant constitutional status to the Maharashtra State Scheduled Caste Commission. While this may appear as a genuine step toward safeguarding the interests of Scheduled Caste communities, one must ask why such measures surface only in the months leading up to elections.

Maharashtra’s electoral history is replete with examples of grand pre-election proclamations that either fell short of implementation, or were not implemented as swiftly as promised.


At the time of the 2004 Assembly election, the Congress-NCP alliance, led by Sushilkumar Shinde, promised sweeping loan waivers to address rural distress. Ahead of the 2019 election, the BJP-Sena government expanded the Shiv Bhojan Thali, a subsidized meal program for the poor. While initially implemented, its reach was criticized due to inadequate infrastructure and inconsistent supply.


These examples underscore that big announcements are part of a well-worn electoral strategy, a pattern where parties make bold pledges to key voting blocs just before the elections, only to let those promises languish in bureaucratic limbo or become diluted after power is secured. Will this time be any different?

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