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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.

Growing distrust among traders over delivery of spot deals

Due to the lack of proper price discovery for silver across the world, a deal for the delivery of 900 kg of silver between the Government of India company "Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited" (SPMCIL), Hyderabad, and a Mumbai-based bullion firm named "Augmont  Enterprise Limited" has run into trouble, creating a huge  flutter in the Mumbai bullion market.

 

A silver bullion dealer from Mumbai said that silver traders across the country—including Mumbai, Rajkot, Jaipur, Agra, Delhi, and Ahmedabad—have landed in serious difficulty. He said that, if a government company creates such issues in silver delivery, then what will happen to the deals of small traders who rely only on a “letter of trust” and whose spot deal deliveries are already jeopardized ?

 

Referring to the details of the deal on December 17, 2025, enquiries were made with leading bullion dealers from the city of Melbourne (Australia) on the status of 'spot deal deliveries' in the local market. 

 

They reveal that deliveries of silver from the (Australian) silver mining companies are not happening on time. Because of this, after accepting money from the investors, they are forced to enter into deals on the condition of delivery after 15 to 20 days.

 

The Mumbai-based silver dealer then countered that if deliveries by a government company itself get stalled in this manner, what will happen to India’s ETF, mutual fund, silver futures, and spot-market “kabala” (non-transferable specific delivery) paper transactions?

 

A senior official of a leading bank, involved in ETF management, said that, so far there has been no major problem with spot silver delivery in India. "However, to protect ETF transactions entered into at recently high prices, we may be compelled to hedge at lease rates with Western countries," he said preferring anonymity.

 

The powerful Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA), Secretary  Surendra Mehta admitted there is a price recovery problem in Mumbai, but it is also true that in the local markets, spot silver is currently being offered at a discount of Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per kilo. "There is also little likelihood of any immediate solution to such discounts and premiums", he averred.

 

When you consider discounts and premiums of USD 8 to 10 per ounce (31.10347 grams) being quoted between China, Japan, the US, and Europe, how can Indian bullion dealers take the price risk of spot transactions?

 

A source close to Augmont Enterprise, said that, on December 17 the government mint company in Hyderabad had announced an auction of refined silver with purity ranging from .995 to .998.5 touch (carat). Augmont deposited the initial earnest money deposit of Rs 1.16 lakh on December 16 and paid the remaining security deposit amount on December 18. On December 19, the auction for 900 kg of silver was approved in the name of Augmont Enterprise. The final balance payment was to be made by December 27.

 

However, even before that, on December 22, the auction deal was cancelled. Between the initial auction date and the date of cancellation, silver prices increased by Rs 36,000 to Rs 40,000 per kilo. Over the last 52 weeks alone, global spot silver prices had risen by 194 percent.

 

Another market  player said that an amount of Rs.18-20 crore is at stake in this deal. Now, on behalf of its member Augmont Enterprise, the IBJA has requested the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) intervention (on January 9, 2026), to resolve the imbroglio.

 

(The writer is a bullion market expert. Views personal.)

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