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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.

The Rising Tide: China’s Tightening Grip on Solomon Islands

China’s quiet rise in Oceania is reshaping Pacific geopolitics, and the Solomon Islands now sit at the centre of this strategic contest.

While the South China Sea dominates debate over China’s maritime expansion, China’s quieter but significant rise in Oceania is generating growing geopolitical and security concerns. The Solomon Islands exemplify this shift, emerging as a key arena of competition between China and traditional Western allies. Beijing’s push for deeper security and economic ties signals a strategic move into a region long shaped by Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.


The Solomon Islands is an archipelago nation in Oceania, northeast of Australia. It consists of six main islands and over a thousand smaller ones, covering about 29,000 sq km and home to roughly 700,000 people. Honiara, the capital and largest city, sits on the island of Guadalcanal.


Modern Solomon Islands history began in 1893, when Captain Herbert Gibson declared a British protectorate. The islands later became a major World War II battleground, seeing fierce clashes between the US, Britain, and Japan.


In 1975, the territory was renamed “The Solomon Islands”, gaining self-governance the following year. It became fully independent in 1978 as the Solomon Islands”. The country remains a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth, with the British monarch as head of state, represented by a governor-general.


China’s growing influence

After gaining independence in 1978, the Solomon Islands established ties with Taiwan in 1983 and maintained them for 36 years. Taiwan provided extensive aid in infrastructure, education, and healthcare. But as China’s influence expanded, the Solomons eventually shifted under pressure from Beijing’s One-China policy, which requires countries to recognise only the PRC and reject Taiwan’s claim to statehood.


In 2019, the Solomon Islands cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognised China, aligning with a broader regional shift in the Pacific.


Soon after, the Solomons signed an MoU with China, joining the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Launched in 2013, the BRI is a vast global infrastructure and economic project aimed at boosting trade and connectivity across Asia, Africa, and Europe.


The Solomon Islands’ economy depends largely on agriculture, fishing, and forestry, with little industrialisation. Its BRI partnership with China prioritises infrastructure, including upgrades to Honiara’s port, major road improvements, and new sports facilities such as the $119 million national stadium. Cooperation also extends to Chinese language training, scholarships, and government capacity-building programmes.


Since switching diplomatic ties, Solomon Islands officials have been visiting China almost monthly on “study tours”. Chinese provincial governments are also building links with Solomon Islands’ provinces, while universities on both sides are signing agreements to set up joint R&D centres.


The concerns

While the BRI has spurred major infrastructure growth, it has also raised concerns about long-term financial sustainability. A key worry is “debt-trap diplomacy”, where repayment pressures could threaten the Solomons’ control over key assets, as seen in countries like Sri Lanka. The islands also export most of their timber and natural resources to China, deepening economic dependence on the Chinese market.


Concerns over China’s influence extend beyond trade and infrastructure. In 2022, the Solomons and China signed a security cooperation pact—initially kept secret—which alarmed Western allies over the possibility of a future Chinese military presence.


These concerns soon proved justified. In January 2022, a PLA Air Force aircraft carrying riot gear and security personnel in camouflage landed in Honiara. This deployment, known as the China Public Security Bureau–Solomon Islands Policing Advisory Group (CPAG), has since become a permanent presence. China’s police maintain a 12-member presence on six-month rotations, operating across all provinces. There have also been reports of Beijing influencing local media, and recent international coverage has highlighted China’s role in the Solomons’ domestic politics, including during a no-confidence motion.


The alternatives

For the Solomon Islands, ties with China offer both opportunities and challenges. While the former Sogavare government leaned strongly toward Beijing, the current administration under Jeremiah Manele is trying to balance relations with both the US and China as the two powers compete for influence.


The country is also trying to broaden partnerships with Australia, New Zealand, and others. Manele has repeatedly signalled a preference for partners like New Zealand on major projects such as the Bina Harbour development. But New Zealand cannot fund the project alone, and its attempts to secure additional donors have so far failed — leaving China eager to step in. This is just one example of how smaller nations, unable to attract Western support, often end up turning to China and risking deeper dependence or debt.


In the crucial Pacific Ocean region, the Solomon Islands exemplify smaller nations caught between the geopolitical rivalry of the US and China.


(The writer is a foreign affairs expert. Views personal.)

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