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...

min read

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.

Twenty-four sugar barons test political future

Rajendra Joshi
Nov 10, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Nov 12, 2024

Kolhapur: During the golden age of the cooperative movement in Maharashtra, the chairmanship of a sugar factory often attracted more attention in rural politics than a seat in the Legislative Assembly. It was through the political influence of sugar mills and cotton mills that the Congress party established its foothold in rural areas across the state. However, with the decline of the cooperative movement in recent years, rural political leaders have increasingly turned their focus towards the Assembly elections. As a result, this year, a remarkable 24 sugar barons from western Maharashtra are stepping into the electoral ring to test their political future. The weight of the sugar magnates in the upcoming assembly will largely depend on how much the rural electorate values their support.

The state elections are seeing intense competition in several constituencies, with some areas witnessing a direct contest between two sugar barons, while in others, they are up against candidates from established political parties. In Kolhapur district’s Kagal constituency, the battle between sugar factory chairmen Santaji Ghorpade of the Sarsepanthi Sakhara Cooperative Sugar Mill, currently a minister, and Samrajitsingh Ghatge of the Rajarshi Shahu Cooperative Sugar Mill, widely considered a model in cooperative management, is drawing significant attention. In Shahuwadi-Panhala constituency, former minister and leader of the Warna group, Vinay Kore, is facing off against former MLA Satyajit Patil-Sarudkar.

In Radhanagari-Bhudargad, K.P. Patil of Bidri Sugar Factory, Chandradeep Narke, former MLA from Kumbhi Sugar Factory in Karveer, and Amal Mahadik, chairman of Rajaram Sugar Factory in Kolhapur South, are also locked in fierce battles with their respective rivals.

The fight in Shirol constituency, between Ganpatrao Patil of Datt Sugar Factory and Rajendra Patil-Yadravkar, former state minister and chairman of Sharad Cooperative Sugar Factory, is another key contest.

In Sangli district, the Kadegaon constituency sees Congress’s Vishwajit Kadam facing BJP’s Sangram Deshmukh. The Shirala constituency’s contest between Mansingh Naik and Satyajit Deshmukh is also one to watch closely. In Tasgaon, the high-profile contest between former MP Sanjaykaka Patil of the BJP and the son of former home minister R.R. Patil, Rohit Patil, has been the talk of the town. In Walwa, a key battle is emerging between the NCP’s state president Jayant Patil and Nishikant Patil.

In Satara district, the Karhad South constituency is witnessing a high-stakes contest between Atul Bhosale and Balasaheb Patil from Karhad North, while the battle in Patan constituency involves sitting minister Shambhuraje Desai, and Shivendra Raje Bhosale contesting from Satara city. Wai constituency sees Makrand Patil gearing up for a tough fight, while in Maan constituency, the fight between Jaykumar Gore and Prabhakar Ghatge is expected to be a neck-and-neck affair.