Some big brands may be dropping tennis ace Sania Mirza after the controversy surrounding her marriage to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, but the sports federations say she will continue to be a good poster girl.Sania will be the brand ambassador for a mega tennis event to be launched by the All India Tennis Association.
The organising committee of the Commonwealth Games say they have not dropped her from their line-up of sports stars who will be promoting the Games in October.
Parting ways
On the flip side, Cadbury Bournvita has not renewed its contract with Mirza and TVS Scooty says it’s unsure about the contract renewal at this point of time. Mirza pockets up to Rs 3 crore a year from endorsements.Secretary General Dr Lalit K Bhanot, OC-CWG says,
“What has Sania’s marriage got to do with her being a star player? We’ll still have her as one of the Indian players promoting the games.”Experts say that the publicity may have even made Mirza a stronger brand.“She probably hasn’t gained so much publicity even after a grand slam win! Brands will line up to sign her and Shoaib,” says Shailendra Singh, Jt. MD Percept.