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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.

When a 20-minute train journey turns into 3-hour ordeal

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

When a 20-minute train journey turns into 3-hour ordeal

Mumbai: The derailment of local train at Kalyan on Friday night turned my 20 minute journey into a three hour ordeal.


I left my office in Thane somewhere around 11 PM. I boarded the Kalyan local at 11.15 PM. Within a few minutes the train moved but stopped after some time. Three or four times the same episode was repeated. Constantly, I was looking at my wrist watch and helplessly chatting with the co-passengers. Since it was the ladies coach which I boarded the women were virtually becoming restless at every given moment.

It was dark outside. The announcement made within the compartment was not audible. We were scared. After sometime once again the train started. It was crawling but slowly silently reached Kalwa station. At this particular juncture again, the train came to a grinding halt for 20 minutes. After sometime, I spoke to my husband and he told me to get down at Mumbra station. Around 12.45 am the train somehow reached Mumbra.


I waited on the platform for half an hour until my husband arrived. During this period the announcements which were made by the railways on the platform were also not at all audible. Due to which we were trying to get some information from our cell phone. Confusion was growing every moment and we were in total darkness about what exactly was happening around, she added further.


Some ladies in the compartment were hovering inside and some preferred to stand near the door. While coming out of the station we saw all the trains were virtually standing in a queue on the track. We came out of the station and hired a cab and managed to reach around 2 AM at home in Dombivli.


The local train services were disrupted on Friday night and the woos of the passengers were on the following the derailment of a coach at Kalyan railway station. The incident occurred around 9 PM on platform number 2, when a coach of a train heading towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) went off the tracks.


The passengers who were traveling through local trains have to face tremendous hardship till Saturday early morning.


According to the Railway administration, the derailment took place at a critical section of the station, known as the 'king point,' where tracks diverge into multiple lines, making the incident more disruptive. Train services on both sides were affected, with movement toward Karjat restored. The mail and express trains which were obstructing the movement of relief trains were diverted via Karjat Lonavala Pune daund and back to Manmad.

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