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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.

Thrust on Rural Schemes

Prime Minister

Just a year ago, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi launched 511 Pramod Mahajan Grameen Kaushalya Vikas Kendras in Maharashtra via video conferencing. Established across 34 rural districts of Maharashtra, these Kendras will conduct skill development training programs across various sectors to provide employment opportunities to rural youth. While launching this scheme the Prime Minister said, this is a huge step for the skill development of millions of youth making this day a memorable one.


While announcing this scheme the state government declared that the Grameen Kaushalya Vikas Kendras will conduct skill development training programs across various sectors to provide employment opportunities to rural youth. Each Kendra will train about 100 youngsters in at least two vocational courses. The training will be provided by empanelled industry partners and agencies under the National Skill Development Council. The establishment of these Kendras will help the region attain significant strides towards developing a more competent and skilled manpower.


Prior to this there were no skill development centers in 28,000 gram panchayats (village councils) in Maharashtra. The plan is aligned with the Indian government’s vision for skill development. The increase in the number of such skill development centers will prevent rural youth from migrating to cities in search of employment opportunities. This initiative, to be executed by the Skill Development Society, which. aims to enhance employability for individuals aged 15 to 45 by establishing 100 new skill development centers across the state. The initiative aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent inauguration of 511 Skill Development Centers simultaneously—the first of its kind in India. The upcoming 100 centers, set to launch in the new year, will expedite the creation of a skilled generation in Maharashtra. Colleges hosting these centers will have the autonomy to select courses tailored for local employment needs, ensuring alignment with the National Skill Qualification Framework.


Emphasizing the need for new skills for India’s agriculture sector, the Prime Minister pushed for natural farming to protect Mother Earth. During this event, he talked about the need for skills to assess balanced irrigation, agricultural-product processing, packaging, branding, and skilling people to get connected with the online world. “Various governments of the country will have to further expand their scope of skill development”, Prime Minister Modi had added.


Excellent scheme, much hyped and published by the Mahayuti government, remains today on paper. Series of meetings took place in the Skill Development department. Challenges faced in setting up 511 centers were reviewed and discussed. In one of the meetings it was also decided that the government officials should take the inspection instead of private organisations. Government is spending 13,000 crore rupees on this and in Maharashtra, 500 plus skill centers will take forward this skill development program in the state.

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