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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.

Once neglected, voters in high-rise buildings on candidates’ list

Updated: Nov 15, 2024

Bala Nandgaonkar

Mumbai: In the last four months, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Bala Nandgaonkar has visited the high end Parel based Ashok Tower four times holding interactions with the residents.

Ashok Tower has more than 600 families and would be hosting a polling booth in its premises. Nandgaonkar is currently the MNS candidate from the Shivadi constituency where he is fighting a pitched battle against Shiv Sena candidate Ajay Chaudhari.


This is the part of the current trend where the candidates are busy wooing the tower residents. This is especially due to the twin factors....increased participation in voting by the residents living in skyscrapers and shrinking winning margins where a couple of votes are capable of tilting the scales.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) in its initiative to boost the voting process has allowed 709 housing societies to host polling booths in their own premises.


Sarika Poddar, secretary, Ashok Tower Housing society who was instrumental for following up with the ECI to set the booth said that this move will boost the voting percentage in high rises. “The residents of high rises are now becoming increasingly assertive and are demanding accountability from the local representatives. Due to the booths in the society premises, we will see more residents exercising their franchise this time,” said Poddar. There are more than 1300 voters in Ashok Tower.


Dhaval Shah, chairman, Lokhandwala-Oshiwara Citizens’ Association, consisting over 150 societies described it a consolidation of the middle and rich class voters. “We have issues like conveyance of buildings, parking, water shortage and traffic congestion. The politicians who neglected us till date are now wooing us with gusto,” said Shah.


For years, politicians focused exclusively on slum and chawl voters and hardly looked at the towers.

In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) led in 158 assembly segments in Maharashtra while the ruling Mahayuti led in 125. The winning margins of 16 seats of MVA were less than 5000 votes while in Mahayuti, 15 seats have less than 5000 margin.


In fact, Shinde Shiv Sena candidate Ravindra Waikar won the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat by a meager 48 votes in a nail-biting finish.


Waikar’s wife Manisha who is fighting the Jogeshwari assembly seat from Shinde Sena said that they have always been amenable to the residents of high rises. “We had set up Matoshree club, the first of its kind recreation club in Western suburbs for the people of this area. In addition, we set up aerobics centre as well as state of art gymnasiums for them,” said Manisha Waikar.


There has been mushrooming of towers across Mumbai due to the large-scale revamp taking place where chawls and small buildings are replaced by high rises. In addition, there has been upward mobility of the residents to these skyscrapers.


Surendra Srivastava-National President, Loksatta movement and Board member, Foundation of Democratic Reforms said such assertiveness is fuelled by the social media. “The middle class has created a narrative where they are demanding that their voice be heard. The politicians can no longer neglect this section which is increasingly demanding answers from the politicos,” said Srivastava.

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