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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.

HC: Builders want to ‘bite the cherry’; fined Rs. 1 lakh

Mumbai: In a stinging observation, the Bombay High Court said that some builders wanted to “bite at the cherry” when they failed in one of a bunch of petitions filed by cooperative housing societies (CHSs) in Bhayander (Thane) seeking ‘unilateral deemed conveyance certificate’.


Coming down heavily on the two concerned builders – Janata Housing Pvt. Ltd. (JHPL) and its sister-concern Sheth Land Development Corporation (SLDC) – Justice Sandeep V. Marne sharply noted that the latter was seeking “another bite at the cherry” in the Divine Blessings CHS case, in the Jesal Park residential layout.


The judge said that both JHPL and SLDC appear to be ‘promoters’ in the project and so, cannot ‘split’ themselves by filing multiple petitions challenging the earlier orders of the Thane Cooperatives Department District Deputy Registrar & Competent Authority (DDR&CA) on the societies’ demand for unilateral Deemed Conveyance.


Later, the Divine Blessings CHS was granted the unilateral Deemed Conveyance, but the builders challenged it, leading to the current order.

Incidentally, official sources reveal that the JHPL-SLDC have reportedly challenged the critical document granted by  DDDR-CA to around a dozen local societies.


“The court does not appreciate the conduct (of the builder) in keeping the Respondent-Society in the continuous course of litigation by filing multiple proceedings raising the same issues…. The petition is gross abuse of process of law,” ruled Justice Marne, slapping a fine of Rs. One-Lakh on the builder as costs to the Society payable within a month.


In a similar vein, Justice Marne reversed a contentious order of the Thane DDR&CA Kishore N. Mande (on March 28, 2024), rejecting several applications by a bunch of CHSs seeking ‘unilateral Deemed Conveyance certificate’.


The landmark verdicts in these separate but related matters, could benefit nearly a 100 such Societies in Bhayandar and many hundreds more in Maharashtra, said experts.


Coming to the aid of the beleaguered Society members awaiting redevelopment, on March 20, 2025, Justice Marne provided relief to “Vandana”, “Prarthana”, “Prerana” and “Upasana”, all CHSs, located in the 40-year-old Jesal Park layout, adjacent to Thane Creek.


Council for Protection of Rights (CPR) President and Barrister Vinod Tiwari lauded Justice Sandeep Marne' “courageous verdict which is a severe warning” to all crooked builders and conniving government officers.


"Due to this evil nexus, hundreds of revamp projects are stuck in Mumbai and other big cities, spelling misery for lakhs of society members," Tiwari told The Perfect Voice.


Hailing the judgement, the four societies’ Coordinator Pankaj Gupta, claimed it will green-light the Deemed Conveyance and allow revamp of these and other dilapidated old buildings, which languished for years thanks to multiple litigations for flimsy reasons.

 

Gupta said the judgement is a boon to all CHSs desperate for redevelopment, but are stuck in avoidable legal quagmire, mostly initiated by the conniving builders-officials, to harass the society members.


In the judgement, Justice Sandeep V. Marne said that one of the reasons cited by the Thane DDR&CA of Cooperative Societies, for rejecting the application for unilateral Deemed Conveyance was ‘incomplete layout’.


However, once the Occupation Certificate is issued to the building constructed in the layout and a CHS formed, then the Society can ask for unilateral Deemed Conveyance, said the judge.


The judge alluded to a GR (June 22, 2018) which clearly indicates granting of unilateral Deemed Conveyance of the land and building where several buildings are under construction on a single plot or work on all has yet to be completed.


The high court overturned the DDR&CA’s ground for rejecting the unilateral Deemed Conveyance that the sanctioned plan copy was not ‘legible’, saying the CHSs could have been easily asked to produce a clearer copy of the same.


On the DDR&CA argument of an alleged ‘mismatch’ of the area in the Certificate of Architect – Justice Marne said the architect or the builder could have been asked to submit a fresh Certificate.


Setting aside the order (March 28, 2024), the judge remanded the four CHSs’ proceedings back to the DDR&CA to decide them, as per the GR (June 22, 2018), and give full opportunity to the aggrieved societies plus the developer along with the relevant documents submitted by them.


Counsel Bishwajeet Mukherjee and Advocate Humera Syed appeared on behalf of the middle-class petitioner-Societies – unitedly fighting against the powerful builders JHPL and SLDC.

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