top of page

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.

Rage Unleashed

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

In a country where the roads are already fraught with overcrowding, potholes, and reckless driving, a disturbing new menace has begun to grip the streets - road rage. This alarming trend, seen vividly in Maharashtra’s bustling cities like Mumbai and Pune, has turned mundane commutes into mortal confrontations.


A tragic event unfolded in Mumbai’s Malad area epitomizing this growing epidemic. A 27-year-old man was beaten to death in broad daylight, in front of his horrified parents, over a minor traffic dispute. The incident began when an auto-rickshaw overtook the deceased’s vehicle, triggering a heated argument. What followed was a brutal escalation, with the rickshaw driver and his associates pummelling the motorbike driver while bystanders passively recorded the horror. In a desperate attempt to protect her son, the hapless mother of the deceased lay on top of him, trying to shield him from the blows. His father, who pleaded in vain for the mob to stop, suffered a serious eye injury in the process.


This chilling story, which went viral across social media platforms, is not an isolated case. In July this year, Pune witnessed a similarly violent episode when a 27-year-old woman, travelling with her two children, was beaten and left bleeding on the side of the road after an overtaking incident. In Bengaluru, just last week, a man was publicly humiliated and beaten, his clothes stripped off, in another shocking case of road rage. And in a particularly devastating event in Latur, a man lost his wife and young daughter when five assailants chased their vehicle for five kilometres before running them over.


Roads, meant for transit, have today become the stage for extreme violence in urban India. Congested roads, inadequate infrastructure, and the high pressure of daily commutes are surely part of the problem. Cities like Mumbai and Pune are notorious for their gridlock, where long hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic lead to frayed nerves. Add to this the common disregard for traffic rules - vehicles routinely flouting lane discipline, honking incessantly, tailgating.


The rise of road rage in India signals a breakdown in social order and personal restraint. The roads, much like social media platforms, have become an outlet for unchecked aggression.

The question that haunts these tragedies is: why are people losing their tempers to such a dangerous degree over something as routine as traffic?


The surge in road rage cases is symptomatic of a broader issue—a loss of empathy in a society stretched to its limits. Something in the social fabric has frayed as drivers no longer see the person in the other vehicle; they see only an adversary.


Reversing this trend will require more than just punitive action against offenders. Stronger traffic enforcement, better infrastructure, and public campaigns that promote responsible driving are essential. But perhaps the most crucial change must come from within—the recognition that the roads belong to all, and that no journey is worth another’s life.

Comments

bottom of page