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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.

NCP (SP) suffers from confusion over symbol

Updated: Nov 29, 2024

NCP

Mumbai: Did the confusion over party symbols cost Sharad Pawar’s NCP at least nine Assembly seats. Yes, looking at the votes tally this fact has been underscored.


A man blowing the turha is the election symbol of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). However, the symbol trumpet misled the voters in many constituencies. In Jintur, Ghansavangi, Shahapur, Belapur, Anushakti Nagar, Ambegaon, Parner, Kej and Paranda rival parties smartly fielded independent candidates with the symbol of a trumpet, spreading confusion among rural and illiterate voters in these nine seats in Maharashtra. As a result the rival candidates narrowly escaped forcing the debacle for NCP (SP) candidates.

NCP (SP) candidate Vijay Bhamble lost to Meghana Bordikar of the BJP by 4,516 votes in the Jintur assembly seat, where the unknown independent candidate with the trumpet symbol, surprisingly garnered over 7,430 votes. Similarly this happened with Rajesh Tope in Ghansavangi who lost to Hikmat Udhan of ShivSena (Shinde) 2,309 votes. Independent candidate with a trumpet symbol got 4,830 votes.


Pandurang Barora, Sandeep Naik, Fahad Ahmed, Devdutta Nikam, Rani Lanke, Prithviraj Sathe and Rahul Mote who lost to this symbol trumpet with narrow margin.


Significantly, this is not happening for the first time. Five months ago during the Lok Sabha election the NCP faced the same problem. NCP (SP) candidate Shashikant Shinde lost to BJP candidate Chhatrapati Udayan Raje Bhosale by 33,000 votes in the Satara Lok Sabha seat, where the independent candidate Sanjay Gadhe, with the trumpet symbol, surprisingly managed to get over 37,000 votes. The same confusion also significantly reduced the victory margins of NCP (SP) candidates in other constituencies.


The NCP (SP) had appealed to the poll panel to not allot any symbol resembling the party's trumpet symbol to any other party or Independent candidate to avoid confusion among voters. The party got the relief from the Election Commission of India. The Commission barred the usage of the word 'tutari', which is the Marathi translation of trumpet. A man blowing a trumpet (tutari) is the election symbol of the NCP (SP).


The party claimed that it suffered and lost votes in the recent Lok Sabha elections due to the mention of the trumpet symbol as 'tutari'. The Election Commission made it clear that it had agreed to a request by NCP (SP) for prominent display of its poll symbol — man blowing 'turha' — on ballot units of EVMs, but refused to freeze the trumpet symbol.


NCP state president Jayant Patil said, “The candidates who have lost the election due to this trumpet symbol have lodged their complaints with the party. We are seriously thinking over this issue. After the consultations with the legal experts we will decide the further course of action”.

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