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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.

State Without Shame

Odisha’s law-and-order collapse is costing its most vulnerable their lives

Odisha
Odisha

Odisha’s long-ignored crisis of systemic sexual violence has reached a crescendo with the discovery last week of two Class 10 girls being pregnant in a government-run tribal hostel in the state’s Kandhamal district. The minors were discovered during routine check-ups after they failed to collect sanitary napkins from hostel authorities. The horrifying revelations have almost become a grim pattern with at least a dozen cases of rape, gang rape and attempted murder of women and girls — most of them poor or tribal — coming to light.


This lethal cocktail of institutional collapse, bureaucratic negligence and political cowardice has resulted in hostels run by the SC/ST Development Department emerging as sites of exploitation and trauma. The ruling BJP seems to be foundering on the issue of law and justice instead of getting its act together.


If governance is measured by how a state protects its weakest, then Odisha has failed spectacularly.


In Jagatsinghpur, a 15-year-old girl, five months pregnant, was allegedly raped repeatedly by two brothers, who then attempted to bury her alive to hide the crime. In Puri’s Nimapada block, another girl was set ablaze and had to be airlifted to AIIMS, Delhi. In Balasore, a college student died by self-immolation after her sexual harassment complaint was dismissed. In Berhampur, assailants tried to murder a 20-year-old woman after a failed rape attempt. In Malkangiri, a girl kidnapped by three men managed to escape — only to be raped again by a truck driver she met on the road.


What these horrors point to is a state in freefall. Odisha’s transition from the BJD’s 24-year-long regime to BJP rule was supposed to mark a break with opacity and political lethargy. Instead, the new government has appeared paralysed. While the BJD scrambles to claw back relevance by staging protests and demanding action, the Majhi government has responded with bureaucratic platitudes. No heads have rolled as survivors continue to suffer in silence.


Nowhere is this more evident than in the treatment of tribal girls. That such crimes could occur in government hostels that are supposedly safe zones points to a collapse of all protective mechanisms. Where were the hostel wardens? Why were routine inspections not conducted? Why were the grievance redressal mechanisms so ineffective? The state government has proposed systemic reform and surprise inspections now, after the damage has been done.


Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who came to power on a plank of transparency, tribal upliftment and law enforcement reform now finds his government engulfed in a full-blown crisis. Odisha’s disturbing cascade of sexual crimes are not occurring in remote jungle clearings or far-flung tribal belts, but in state-controlled institutions and residential schools.


The rot runs deeper than any single government. The BJD, which ruled Odisha for over two decades, left behind a hollowed-out bureaucracy, riddled with nepotism and indifferent to public service. Many of the systems including the tribal hostel framework, school inspections, and police oversight were structurally weakened on its watch. But that history cannot be a shield for the current administration’s inertia.


The BJP must realise that it cannot run Odisha with the same formula it uses elsewhere — cultural symbolism, rhetorical nationalism and welfare schemes borrowed from the Centre. Odisha’s problems are messier. The state is home to some of India’s most vulnerable tribal populations that requires careful governance. If Majhi wants to distinguish himself from his predecessor, he must act not as a party man, but as a leader entrusted with the lives of those who have the least.


The first step is accountability. Hostels must be audited independently. Wardens who failed to protect children must be suspended. Fast-track courts should be instituted for sexual crimes involving minors. Above all, the government must communicate clearly and consistently: to survivors, to families, and to the public.


Odisha cannot afford another cycle of outrage and amnesia. The safety of women and girls is not an opposition issue or a ruling party talking point but the bedrock of civilised governance.

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