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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.

Missiles in Motion

Updated: Jan 27, 2025

The U.S. expands its missile presence in the Indo-Pacific, drawing China’s ire and reshaping its military footprint in the Philippines.

Philippines

In a significant move that highlights both the growing strategic importance of the Philippines and the heightened tensions in the Indo-Pacific, the United States has shifted its Typhon missile launchers from Laoag airfield on the northern island of Luzon to an undisclosed location in the same region. The Typhon system, capable of launching both Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 anti-air and anti-ship missiles, is part of a broader U.S. initiative to strengthen its military presence in Asia amid intensifying competition with China. While the relocation’s full implications remain uncertain, the move is a stark reminder of how the Philippines, a longtime U.S. ally, has become a crucial military base for American forces, strategically positioned in one of the world’s most volatile regions.


The Philippines, which has hosted U.S. military bases since the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898, has long served as a pivotal point for American military power in the region. During the Cold War, U.S. bases such as Subic Bay and Clark Air Base were integral to projecting American influence throughout Southeast Asia. After the bases were closed in 1991, following the Philippine Senate’s vote to oust U.S. forces, the relationship between the two nations evolved into a more informal yet still robust military alliance. This transformation has included the enhanced cooperation envisioned under the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which have allowed U.S. troops to rotate through Philippine territory for joint exercises and humanitarian missions.


Today, the renewed military cooperation has become more explicit, with the Philippines providing the U.S. access to strategic locations on its territory, such as the airfields in Luzon. These sites now play a key role in U.S. military deployments, particularly as the Pentagon focuses on countering China’s growing military and economic assertiveness. The Typhon system’s relocation is a testament to how this partnership is evolving. With its ability to strike targets across China and Russia, the Typhon launchers position the Philippines as a key player in the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, especially as the region becomes the central theater of global geopolitical competition.


The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) has clarified that the Typhon system’s new position within the Philippines is part of a broader strategy to enhance mobility and survivability in a potential conflict. The Typhon batteries are designed to be easily redeployed, ensuring that they can move swiftly to evade enemy targeting. This flexibility, particularly in a region where the U.S. faces formidable opponents like China and Russia, is seen as a force multiplier. With satellite images revealing the movement of the missile batteries, it is clear that U.S. military officials are working to maximize the strategic value of the Philippines without necessarily making a permanent commitment of forces.


However, the relocation has sparked strong reactions from both China and Russia, who view the U.S. missile systems as an escalation that could destabilize the region further. The Typhon’s potential range, combined with the firepower of its Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles, puts significant pressure on Beijing and Moscow, both of which are keenly aware of the U.S. military’s ability to project power within the first and second island chains—an area that includes the Philippines. The Chinese government has consistently condemned the U.S. missile deployments, accusing Washington of stoking an arms race and inflaming tensions in the South China Sea, a waterway through which crucial international shipping routes pass.


This missile race is part of a broader shift in military dynamics in the Indo-Pacific. The region has seen an accelerated arms buildup, particularly by China, which has rapidly developed anti-ship ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons and an expanding naval fleet. As China asserts its territorial claims over the South China Sea and extends its military presence across the region, the United States is looking to ensure that its military capabilities in the area remain competitive. The relocation of the Typhon systems is, in many ways, a direct response to these Chinese advancements, ensuring that the U.S. maintains its ability to challenge Beijing’s dominance in the region.

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