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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.

Stampede Shame

Updated: Feb 18, 2025

Stampedes at railway stations in India are tragically common, but they are preventable. The chaos that unfolded at New Delhi Railway Station was no accident but an inevitable consequence of systemic neglect. 18 people, including children and the elderly, perished in a crowd surge, while dozens were injured. The authorities’ response, marked by delays, poor communication and a lack of contingency planning underscores a familiar pattern of failure.


The warning signs were all there. Hours before the stampede, social media posts alerted officials to swelling crowds. Yet, no effort was made to control the influx of passengers. Instead, a sudden change in platform assignments triggered a frantic rush. Confused travellers, many of them elderly or carrying luggage, found themselves in a deadly bottleneck near the staircases and bridges leading to platforms 13 and 14. Even basic safety measures were absent. Security officials attempting to manage the crowd inadvertently worsened the situation by halting movement at crucial junctions, creating a deadly pressure wave of bodies pushing forward. With no officials to guide them and no clear announcements over the din, panic ensued.


Such disasters are not new. India has witnessed deadly stampedes at religious gatherings, political rallies and train stations for decades. In 2017, a stampede on a narrow bridge at Mumbai’s Elphinstone Road Station killed 23 people. In 2018, a stampede at a railway station in Varanasi left several dead. Last year, a similar disaster at a temple in Madhya Pradesh killed over a hundred pilgrims. The recurring theme in all these incidents is the failure of authorities to anticipate and manage large crowds.


The Railways’ sluggish response only made matters worse. Conflicting statements from officials confused the public. While the Ministry of Railways initially dismissed the news of a stampede as ‘rumours,’ Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor later confirmed the deaths. Even then, it took the authorities nearly 20 hours to acknowledge the scale of the disaster. Information about the deceased trickled out slowly, leaving families scrambling for details.


The so-called solutions that followed are cosmetic. A two-member committee was hastily formed to probe the incident - an exercise likely to yield little beyond bureaucratic paperwork. Meanwhile, the decision to divert special trains to platform 16 and advise passengers to use the Ajmeri Gate entrance is a band-aid, not a cure. A fundamental overhaul of crowd management protocols is needed if such tragedies are to be averted.


A railway station that handles over 400 trains and thousands of passengers daily must have a robust crisis management system in place. Live crowd monitoring, better queue management, clear public announcements and designated safety marshals should be the norm. Ticket sales in general compartments should be regulated to avoid overcrowding. Stampedes do not happen in isolation. They are the result of negligence, poor planning, and an absence of accountability. Until authorities treat crowd safety as a priority rather than an afterthought, these tragedies will continue to repeat themselves. India does not lack the resources to prevent stampedes but lacks the will.

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