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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.

US Vice President JD Vance urges Pakistan to cooperate with India in hunting down Pahalgam terrorists



Washington: US Vice-President J.D. Vance has said that the US hopes that Pakistan would cooperate with India to hunt down the Pakistan-based terrorists responsible for the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam last month.


"Our hope here is that India responds to this terrorist attack in a way that doesn't lead to a broader regional conflict," Vance said on Thursday in an interview on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" show.


"And we hope, frankly, that Pakistan, to the extent that they're responsible, cooperates with India to make sure that the terrorists sometimes operating in their territory are hunted down and dealt with," the Us Vice-President added.


During the interview with Fox News, Vance made his first public remark on the attack, which left 26 people dead.


Vance and his family were in India on a four-day visit when the carnage -- the worst since the Pulwama attack on CRPF personnel in 2019 -- took place.


The Vice-President's remarks assume significance amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.


Vance, who was in India last month, had then condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the victims and their families in a post on X.


The Pahalgam attack, which claimed the lives of 25 tourists and one local, was one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in the Kashmir Valley in recent times. The terrorists had planned the attack on a scenic meadow which required hiking or using a pony service to get to the spot.


US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday, amid escalating tensions between the two countries following the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.


Rubio asked Pakistani officials to cooperate in the investigation and work to de-escalate tensions between them.


In his first public remarks on the attack, Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that India will give a fitting and precise response to every act of terrorism.


Sending a strong warning to terrorists, Amit Shah said, "If anyone thinks that a cowardly attack is their victory, they must remember this is Narendra Modi's India — and revenge will be taken, one by one."



Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to "pursue" the perpetrators and their backers "to the ends of the earth".


India downgraded its ties with Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack and took several diplomatic measures, including the pausing of the Indus Waters Treaty, expelling all Pakistani military attaches, closing its airspace to Pakistani airlines and the shutting down of the Attari-Wagah border.


In response, Pakistan undertook tit-for-tat measures and suspended the Simla Agreement.

India on Thursday relaxed its deadline allowing Pakistani nationals to return to Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah border. But, Pakistan has not yet reciprocated with the same measure by allowing Indian nationals into the country.

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