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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.

Original BJP ‘killed’ by present crop: Uddhav

Mumbai: As the Marathi-Hindi fracas continued to rage with threats and counter-threats, Shiv Sena (UBT) President and ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party, its erstwhile saffron partner.

 

“This is not the BJP we know… The original BJP which was in alliance with the (undivided) Shiv Sena has been killed by the present leaders,” declared Thackeray, responding to threats from certain Hindi-speaking leaders.

 

Reiterating that he was not opposed to Hindi but to its compulsion in Maharashtra schools, he added that the current BJP which is controlling the reins of the party has been ‘taking people from other parties to bolster its strength’.

 

On the sharp reactions from some north-Indian leaders, Thackeray said that the foundations of the BJP leaders like Girish Mahajan are on fire after the coming together of the two cousins, including Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray.

 

“They have gone to such an extent that they are comparing Marathis with the terrorists of the (April 22) massacre in Pahalgam. They could not save the Hindus there, now they are siding with those perpetrating injustice to Marathi. These (leaders) are the real ‘killers’ of Marathi,” Thackeray said grimly.

 

“Why can’t you trace the terrorists of the Pahalgam killings… where are they, have they joined the BJP? We have been opposing the imposition of Hindi. We are the Shiv Sena and my Sainiks go to help people without asking their caste or religion,” he asserted.

 

He was referring to the statements of BJP state Minister Ashish Shelar on the Pahalgam incident where the extremists asked caste-religion before targeting the victims, and how Hindus are being attacked here after asking about their language.

 

Thackeray dismissed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ reactions that the Saturday coming together of Uddhav-Raj was a gathering of ‘rudaalis’ (female weepers), terming it as an outcome of ‘deranged mentality’.

 

Other SS (UBT) leaders like Sushma Andhare, Kishori Pednekar, Vaibhav Naik, and Vasant More joined in Thackeray’s attack on the BJP including its Godda (Jharkhand) MP Nishikant Dubey who has issued purported threats to the Thackeray kin.

 

Among other things, Dubey said that the people here survive on ‘their’ money, there are no industries here, if they have the courage to attack those who speak Hindi then they must also beat up those who speak Urdu, Tamil, Telugu.

 

“You people survive ono our money. If you are such a bully, then step out of Maharashtra… Come to Bihar or Uttar Pradesh. We shall clobber (patak patak ke maarenge) you here,” warned Dubey.

 

Pednekar sarcastically asked ‘who is this Dubey’; Naik issued a quiet threat saying ‘let him come to Mumbai, we shall show him how the Marathis speak’; More flashed a bamboo stick saying ‘it is for them’, while Andhare remarked if the BJP will finish Dube or vice-versa’.

 

Strangely, after a fiery speech at the Saturday victory rally - for reasons not clear - the MNS has suddenly gone silent with hardly any reactions to the latest onslaught on the Thackerays, confounding political circles.

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