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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.

Sharad Pawar puts up a fierce fight

In a departure from his usual ways, Sharad Pawar came down heavily on those who betrayed him and split the NCP that he had founded, taking the fight into the BJP’s home.


Sharad Pawar

Mumbai: As electioneering enters the final phase, Sharad Pawar’s public rebuke of those who betrayed him and split his party, comes as a surprise to many. In the past year and a half, the patriarch of the NCP (SP) has not publicly condemned his former colleagues too often. Neither is he known to use intemperate language against his opponents, particularly the BJP. Even when BJP leaders called him a ‘bhatakti atma’ just before the Lok Sabha polls, Pawar only had a humourous retort. But this time, the angry statesmen has taken the fight to the people, almost as if urging the people to choose the right from the wrong.


In Yeola, Pawar came down heavily on Chhagan Bhujbal, remaking that he had “crossed all limits” and had betrayed not just him but also Bal Thackeray earlier and exhorted the voters to shun such as person. Dilip Walse Patil, a former close colleague who shared warm relations with the Pawar family, wasn’t spared either. Pawar ruefully remarked that he, too, had betrayed him. The hurt was evident. But the burning desire to upstage these leaders at the ballot box was there for all to see.


A party leader explains that Pawar’s decision was to consolidate his gains in a few constituencies where the NCP (SP) enjoys a good base. And this is in the rural belt of Maharashtra. The seats secured by the NCP (SP) are crucial for the party which sees the sugar and milk belt of western Maharashtra as its bastion from the early days of Pawar’s political career. He’s balanced the caste equations well; bringing in candidates with high “winnability” and also rewarding those who are loyal, while keeping an eye on the caste combination. Sandeep Kshirsagar is a stellar example—the young OBC leader has been fielded from Beed which is seeing widespread Maratha agitation. He’s been a loyal to the party and is being groomed as the NCP (SP)’s OBC face with Bhujbal’s departure. “It makes it all the more important for Pawar to criticise and expose Bhujbal. It makes way for people to recognise others,” says the party worker.


Rural Maharashtra is where the party has set its sights. Even as the MVA formed the government in 2019, the undivided NCP bagged the maximum number and the most influential portfolios in the cabinet. The NCP had taken 12 cabinet positions with portfolios linked to rural politics such as water resources, cooperation and rural development, apart from the key home and finance departments.


There are two days of active campaigning left and Pawar has zipped across the state, combing through every other constituency of rural Maharashtra especially Marathwada and Western Maharashtra. At 84, he declared that he will grow old only once the government changes. The state has barely seen a fighter as fierce as him.

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