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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.

Less people, many choices

Updated: Dec 23, 2024

The dispute over plum departments and guardianship of districts delayed portfolio allocation even after a week

dispute over plum departments

Mumbai: The difficult choice given to cabinet ministers to choose either of the plum departments or the guardianship of the districts of their liking is delaying the portfolio allocation of the ministers in Maharashtra, sources privy of the developments have said.


In the previous government the Shiv Sena as well as the NCP pulled shots. They got almost all they wanted - sometimes even at the cost of the BJP. However, with the massive mandate this time, the BJP is not ready to budge. Apart from a couple of plum departments the BJP wishes to keep all the plum portfolios with itself. Moreover, under the new scheme of arrangements between the alliance partners, the old power sharing formula is being replaced with the new one. This is likely to change the guardian ministers of most of the districts and the BJP has staked claim on guardianship of key districts, which in turn has delayed the portfolio allocation, the sources said.


Pune is one of the key districts that the BJP wants to control. During the previous government finance minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar was also the guardian minister of Pune. However, this time the BJP, which has given two ministerial berths to Pune city in the form of Chandrakant Patil and Madhuri Misal, is keen on controlling the funds allocation in the district by staking claim on the guardian ministership. Pawar is not comfortable with this new arrangement and that is delaying the finalization of portfolios, the sources said.


Pawar wanted to keep both - the finance department as well as the guardianship of the Pune district. However, the BJP has asked him to choose between any one of these two things, the sources said. Pawar is upset due to delay in portfolio allocation. But, he is learnt to have been told that deliberations are going on to ensure there is no display of disgruntlement like the one seen after the cabinet expansion wherein several former ministers expressed disappointment over not being clearly told of being dropped from the cabinet in advance.


Attempts are being made to thoroughly discuss even the finer aspects of the new power sharing formula with as many concerned individuals as possible and to convince them to follow the formula. This is delaying the portfolio allocation, the sources added.


Meanwhile, DCM Eknath Shinde, who is facing ire of his party MLAs after he had to drop at least three of his ministers while he was the CM, mat his party MLAs in a bid to pacify them saying that those who were promised ministerial berth and were not given it stand a chance in the next expansion. However, this has led to speculations whether it was meant just to pacify disgruntled MLAs or some of the ministers in the current cabinet too are likely to be dropped in the due course of time.

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