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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.

Is Ajit unconquerable?

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

Ajit

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is currently receiving criticism from all the sides. His trusted associates across Maharashtra have been leaving him to join his uncle, while he had been receiving criticism from leaders in the Mahayuti coalition. The RSS cadres too had not hidden their discomfort with him. On this backdrop, it will be interesting to see whether he is able to prove his mantle and emerge unconquerable as his name suggests.


Former minister and BJP leader from Solapur Lakshman Dhoble left the party on Friday to join the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) under Sharad Pawar. While leaving the BJP he blamed Ajit Pawar for the troubles he had been creating. In Aurangabad, the party had to expel MLC Satish Chavan for anti-party activists. News stories regarding some or the other leader in his home district Pune leaving his side and joining his uncle’s party have become a daily routine over past month or so. Yet, ‘Dada’ (elder brother) as he is often referred to as by his followers, is undeterred and following the path he had chosen for himself over a year ago.

“All those leaving me are doing so because they know that they won’t get to contest from our party. They stand a better chance on the other side because there they have a vacuum of over 40 seats since we left them,” he says convincingly when asked about those leaving him. On rest of the criticism, he is sure that his unwavering dedication to work shall shut the mouths of all his critics.


He had to keep low due to bad performance in the Lok Sabha election. After the elections he was openly criticized even by an ally and fellow deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who attributed the alliance’s poor performance to the NCP’s “inability” to convert support into votes for its allies. The issue is one fourth of the undivided NCP’s votes came from the minorities, which did not go the Mahayuti candidates during Lok Sabha polls.


But, this shortcoming is likely to be the best tool for him in the assembly election, as he is being perceived as the only Mahayuti leader who has an ability to attract Muslim votes. He is even nurturing his image accordingly and openly saying in advertisements that he hasn’t shed his ‘secular’ ideology even though he has joined the BJP for its development agenda.


Ajit Pawar is restless and ambitious. At a recent program, he spoke out his desire to become Chief Minister openly. He also nurtures a deep sense of resentment within, for not getting a chance to become the Chief Minister of the state in spite of swearing in for five times as Deputy Chief Minister in span of past two decades. His current politics, since past year and a half, when he broke away from his uncle Sharad Pawar, has been driven by this deep resentment.

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