Published: June 3, 2026 at 8:47 pm
About a month ago, it was heartbreaking to hear the comments of sportsperson Satwiksairaj Rankireddy. He is one of India’s best badminton players and recently helped India win a bronze medal in the Thomas Cup, which is the symbol of world supremacy in the men’s team championship. But the achievement did not get the attention that it deserved. Very recently, Satwiksairaj and his partner Chirag Shetty also won the Singapore Open Super 750 title which was another noteworthy feat.
In the Thomas Cup, India beat Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinal before being knocked out by France in the semifinals. This was India’s second medal finish in three editions of the tournament, the first one being a historic gold in 2022. In both editions, Satwik and his doubles partner Chirag Shetty were the heroes.
Just a few days ago, the duo chalked up another historic feat. They became the first-ever Indian men’s doubles pair to clinch the prestigious Singapore Open title by defeating Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri 18–21, 21–17, 21–16 in the final.
The match lasted a gruelling 73 minutes. This was their first Singapore Open title, their ninth BWF World Tour title overall, and it ended a 742-day title drought. After losing the opening game, the Indian duo staged a strong comeback and reaffirmed their place among the world’s top doubles pairs.
Satwik and Chirag became the first-ever Indian men’s doubles pair to clinch the prestigious Singapore Open title by defeating Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri 18–21, 21–17, 21–16 in the final. Pics: Badminton Photo
But after all this, will they ever get the accolades that they deserve? Will they be recognised if they walk down the streets? Perhaps only a handful of avid sports fans may know who they are and what they have achieved in world badminton. Will they be approached by advertisers to endorse products? Very unlikely.
Not merely causes emotional hurt but also damages their sports careers
Such indifference among the public and the media too, is not only a matter of bruising the self-esteem of the players. The hurt is more than just psychological. There is a practical damage too, to their careers. Due to lack of publicity and lack of recognition, sponsors do not come forward to offer lucrative deals.
Rankireddy and his doubles partner Shetty are the only Indian doubles pair to reach World No.1 ranking. But Rankireddy is a sad and dejected man these days. He said that he is getting no help from anyone. Not even the government. This is what the player said: “I do not get support from anywhere. I am all alone in this. Instagram models get more attention than we players do. I might as well stop doing it.”
Satwik spoke about how little the ecosystem offers to sportspersons in India, who travel across the world in the pursuit of excellence and to make their country proud. They make big sacrifices to win medals. But does India care?
Anyone heard of paddler Divyanshi Bhowmick?
Next, how many Indians have heard about a girl named Divyanshi Bhowmick? Last year she was the first Indian girl (after 36 years) to win the Under-15 Asian Table Tennis Championship. If a 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gets so much publicity, does this Indian girl not deserve it too? After all, she defeated very strong Chinese opponents who dominate table tennis in Asia. In the final she defeated China’s Zyu Qihi.
The significance of her achievement cannot be overstated. In table tennis, Asia is the centre of excellence. The world’s strongest players and nations are concentrated in this continent. To emerge as the best in Asia is, in many respects, to emerge as one of the best in the world. A young Indian girl reached the top but very few know about her achievement.
What makes Divyanshi’s story even more inspiring is the journey of hardship that lay behind the triumph. She began by practising on a simple concrete table at home under the guidance of her father Rahul Bhowmik, himself a former national player. Her Chinese opponents emerged from China’s superbly equipped sports schools. China has 2000 sports schools spread across the country and has thousands of highly experienced coaches to train children from the age of 5. That is how they produce numerous world champions in different sports.
Divyanshi’s achievement is a testament to dedication, sacrifice and perseverance. It is a story that deserves to be heard across India and should inspire millions of young athletes, just as Vaibhav’s exploits have done. India must learn to celebrate excellence across all sports, not just cricket. Young champions in less publicised disciplines deserve encouragement, visibility and respect if they are to realise their full potential.
Same is the case with women’s archery
Several days ago, the Indian women’s archery team snatched a thrilling victory over their strong Chinese rivals in the World Cup Stage 2 archery championship in Shanghai, China. But again, this information got buried by cricket news. The team consisting of the experienced Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Kumkum Mohol defeated host China after a tense struggle.
The triumph was particularly impressive as it marked India’s first women’s recurve World Cup team gold since 2021. Moreover, before facing China in the finals, the Indian trio stunned the record 10-time Olympic champions, South Korea, in the semifinals. Korea is the superpower of world archery.
Achievement of Secunderabad girl Shringari buried
From the twin cities, a young lass, 15-year-old Shringari Roy of the Secunderabad Sailing Club, is making waves in the National Sailing Championships by winning back-to-back medals. She is a student at St Ann’s High School, Mehdipatnam, and she will represent India in the World Optimist Sailing Championship in Morocco in June. A few local journalists have written about this talented girl but yet there is not adequate publicity about her. The girl remains largely unknown.
This indifference from the public and the media hurts the athletes in many ways. For example, they have great difficulty in finding sponsors. In India, cricket enjoys a level of popularity that no other sport can match among the public. The sports media only follows the popularity trail and so other sports lag behind.
Shringari Roy. Pic: Telangana Today
Television ratings for cricket are enormous, advertisers spend heavily on cricket broadcasts, and newspapers know that cricket stories attract more viewers and readers than reports on athletics, hockey, badminton, or swimming. As a result, cricket dominates headlines, television debates, and social media discussions.
Indian athletes in sports such as badminton, wrestling, boxing, athletics, and hockey have won Olympic medals and world titles, yet their achievements receive only brief coverage compared to even ordinary cricket events. The imbalance also creates a cycle. Because less media attention means fewer sponsors and smaller fan followings.
While cricket certainly deserves its popularity, sports lovers in India as well as the media should also acknowledge achievers in other games. A broader sports culture would encourage young athletes, inspire diversity in sporting talent, and help India grow into a stronger all-round sporting nation.
India is aspiring to host the Olympic Games in 2036 so we must focus on other games as well. We cannot merely keep up the present standard and win our customary 4 or 5 medals that we do every time. Or we will become the first host country in the history of the Olympics to win so few medals and become the laughingstock of the entire world.
