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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.

Responsible Reaction to Plastic Menace

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Plastic Menace

India is now the largest producer of plastic waste, posing a serious threat to the environment and public health. How can we responsibly address this issue? While the ability to process waste defines the problem’s scope, individual responsibility is also crucial.

Two weeks ago, a paper published in the famous scientific journal Nature, which explained the enormity of the plastic waste menace, was quoted in this column. The paper pointed out that almost one fifth of the world’s plastic waste is produced in India. However, when labelling India as the largest producer of plastic waste, one also needs to factor in the fact that India houses around one-sixth of the total global population. The same paper also states that China was the biggest producer of plastic waste a few years ago, but by making investments in developing effective waste management systems, they have managed to tackle the issue successfully. The paper also suggests that developing countries should follow the example set by developed countries and invest more in waste management systems that would tackle the plastic menace.

However, the paper highlights that while inadequate waste management systems are the main issue in developing countries, the problem continues in developed nations even with robust systems in place. The paper attributes the growing plastic menace in these nations to irresponsible behaviour among the population. Is it not a more serious problem if people are irresponsibly throwing plastic anywhere in nature despite having some of the largest systems to tackle the issue in place? Shouldn’t we also demand that developed nations, which have established waste management systems, take action against the plastic menace in their own countries rather than focussing solely on developing nations where people’s behaviour regarding plastic seems to be more responsible?

The system of plastic waste management involves stages such as collecting, segregating, and sending recyclable materials back to the industry, with the final step being the incineration of non-recyclable items. One needs both the technology and trained human resources to develop a system to tackle the plastic menace. The paper published in Nature pinpoints India’s problem as its inability to collect plastic waste.

However, while thinking of sustainable development, one also needs to take into account the efficacy of the system developed for tackling the plastic menace. That would involve factors like availability, capacity, and the condition of the incinerators. Plastic waste going into nature due to the non-availability of incinerators and the air pollution that would be caused by improper operations or improper condition of incinerators would both finally add to the pollution, though one of those would be visible and the other would not be visible.

This demands a more evolved approach while looking at the plastic menace. Just counting the total plastic waste produced by a country does not completely reflect the problem. To be able to assess the issue of plastic menace completely, one will need to study the various types of plastic products being used in a particular country, their supply chains, as well as the whole lifecycle of such products till they go to landfills as waste. Such a study may show that some of the plastic products have actually proved to be eco-friendly.

Over the past few decades, plastic has replaced metal in several automobile components, bringing down the weight and boosting the fuel efficiency of the vehicles, which in turn has led to decreased emissions of greenhouse gases. One must also factor in the energy efficiency of the waste plastic management system, which involves the consumption of large amounts of energy. Additionally, correctly identifying the real problem areas is necessary. Some of our policies make the use of wrappers mandatory, and plastic wrappers amount to more plastic waste than plastic carry bags, which have been banned. A relook at and rationalisation of such policies too would help undo the plastic menace.

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