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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.

RR backstabbed me by ordering open inquiry into irrigation: Ajit

Ajit

Pune: Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday alleged he was “backstabbed” by his close colleague and then home minister R R Patil who ordered an open inquiry against him in the alleged multi-crore irrigation scam.


Pawar claimed a file mentioning Patil’s remarks ordering an inquiry was shown to him by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis after he became chief minister in 2014.


Pawar made these claims while addressing a rally for the Nationalist Congress Party candidate Sanjay Patil who is in the fray against the late Patil’s son Rohit from Tasgaon in Sangli district.


“Allegations were levelled against me in an irrigation scam. Attempts were made to defame me. It was decided to level an allegation of Rs 70,000 crore scam in an irrigation project. The total expenditure of salaries was Rs 42,000 crore in the project and allegation was made about irregularities of Rs 70,000 crore,” Pawar claimed.


The actual expenditure for the project amounted to Rs 43,000 crore but a case was made to show that there was a scam of Rs 70,000 crore, Pawar said.


Pawar was Water Resources Development Minister during 1999-2009 when the Congress-NCP combine was in power in Maharashtra. He had also served as chairman of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation, which had cleared irrigation projects in which alleged irregularities were alleged.


“A file was prepared and forwarded to the home department (headed by R R Patil). He approved an open inquiry against me and mentioned it in the file note. This was a pure case of back-stabbing. I became very upset as he (Patil) was a close colleague,” he claimed.


The NCP (undivided) subsequently withdrew the support to the Prithviraj Chavan-led government and the President’s rule was imposed, he said.


“The then governor refused to sign on the file (for open inquiry) and stated that let the new CM sign it,” he claimed.


Notably, Sharad Pawar-led NCP withdrew the support to then Prithviraj Chavan-led government in September 2014 following the announcement of breaking of ties with Congress, just days ahead of the assembly elections.


“When the Devendra Fadanvis-led government came to power, he signed the file and later called me. He said that the file was awaiting the CM’s signature. He told me that it was RR Patil who opened the inquiry and showed me his signature on the file. I was very upset as he (Patil) was a close colleague,” Pawar claimed.


Notably, Maharashtra’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) gave a clean chit to Ajit Pawar in the multi-crore Vidarbha irrigation scam after the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress was sworn in the state on November 28, 2019. R R Patil had served as the state home minister for a considerable time during the tenure of the Congress-NCP governments from 2004 to 2014.


Pawar declares assets worth Rs 45.37 cr

Ajit Pawar, contesting assembly polls from Baramati, has movable assets worth more than Rs 8.22 crore, while his immovable assets were valued at Rs 37.15 crore, according to an affidavit submitted by him before the Election Commission.


His movable assets include two cars - Toyota Camry, Honda CRV -- a tractor, silver articles, FDs, shares and bonds, among others, as per the affidavit submitted by him along with nomination papers from the seat in Pune district for the November 20 polls.


His spouse Sunetra Pawar, a Rajya Sabha member, owns movable assets worth Rs 14.57 crore, while the value of immovable assets in her name stood at Rs 58.39 crore, according to the document.


Ajit Pawar’s main rival in the elections is his nephew Yugendra Pawar, the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate who is making his electoral debut from the family seat.


Yugendra Pawar, who also filed his nomination papers on Monday, has declared movable assets worth Rs 39.79 crore.


The NCP (SP) candidate owns immovable assets valued at Rs 10.79 crore, according to an affidavit submitted along the nomination papers.


His immovable assets include a flat measuring more than 2,000 sq ft in Mumbai and land parcels in Mulshi and Baramati in Pune district, according to the document.

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