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...

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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.

India Needs a National Education Service

Anuradha Rao
Apr 24, 2025
3 min read

In our last piece, we discussed the need for a separate education budget. But the conversation can’t stop at allocation. A bigger budget, even a dedicated one, won’t move the needle if it isn’t tied to a professional team mandated to execute it. Policy without people to implement it is just paperwork. We need increased spending on education and a system built to deliver on that investment - a National Education Service that can turn vision into reality.

If we have a dedicated cadre for economists, why not for the educators who shape the future of every other profession?

India’s education system has grown; Literacy has risen from 12 percent in 1947 to nearly 77 percent today. Enrolment is high. School infrastructure is expanding. The Right to Education is enshrined in law. And yet, something foundational remains missing: a structured, professional system to support our teachers. Over the decades, India has produced policy after policy emphasizing teacher quality as central to educational transformation - from the Kothari Commission in 1966 to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. However, implementation remains fragmented, training is underfunded, and career pathways are vague. What’s missing is not insight but budget and institutional architecture.

If India is serious about reforming education, it must create a National Education Service (NES) - a dedicated cadre of educators, school leaders, academic specialists and public education managers with the same seriousness, structure and national vision as the Indian Economic Service (IES).

The IES was established in 1961 when India recognized that economic governance needed more than generalist administrators. Financial planning requires technical expertise. The result was a professional service of economists embedded across ministries and planning bodies.

This was not bureaucratic indulgence. It was strategic planning. If the economy warranted such investment in talent, why not education, the system that builds the people who make the economy?

What would the NES Do? An Indian Education Service would be designed to elevate the entire teaching and learning ecosystem. NES officers would be selected through national examinations and interviews, like the IAS or IES. Their training would go beyond theory to include pedagogy, leadership, contextual understanding and public systems management.

These officers would be deployed at district, state and national levels as teachers, academic leaders, curriculum developers, training mentors, policy advisors, assessment designers, and research leads.

Every officer would be assigned to districts or thematic portfolios with clearly defined goals, whether improving foundational literacy, enhancing teacher training or leading curriculum reform. Their work would be reviewed not through paperwork alone but via measurable learning outcomes, capacity-building indicators and peer evaluations.

NES officers would also play key roles in institutions like SCERTs, DIETs, NCERT, and NCTE, creating a system where field experience meets policy design. The NES would break the long-standing divide between bureaucrats and educators by creating a hybrid class of reflective practitioners and public servants.

One of the most significant gaps in the current system is that teacher qualification is often a one-time event. A B.Ed. degree at 23, followed by decades of classroom work with little structured support or skill renewal. That’s not how serious professions operate.

Doctors are licensed. Chartered accountants update their certifications. Commercial pilots log a minimum number of hours and assessments. Teaching, too, must adopt a model of lifelong learning.

An NES framework could mandate periodic license renewal every five years, backed by at least 100 hours of certified professional development. Rather a penalty, this is a quality assurance mechanism and an investment in our students.

Countries like Finland, Australia, and Singapore show that investing in a broader education ecosystem of research, policy and innovation yields better outcomes, from teacher retention to public trust. The NES aims to do the same for India.

India needs education professionals with real classroom experience to drive systemic reform. Yet, spending lags behind ambition. Against a 6 percent GDP target, allocations remain at 3.5–4 percent with teacher training often the first to be cut. The shortfall is unjust.

It’s time to build the system that builds the nation. We need to move beyond symbolic praise for teachers and give them a structure that supports growth, accountability and dignity. We need to create career pathways that attract the best minds to teach and lead education from the front. Build the cadre. Build the system. Build the future.

(The author is a learning and development professional. Views personal)

1 Comment

jackishop12

Jan 21

The educational philosophy at UNICCM School is shaped around lasting professional value. Courses are designed to connect knowledge with practical relevance. Learners build capabilities that remain useful over time. Flexible study arrangements encourage continuous involvement. This supports sustainable career development.