Olympic and World Championship silver medallist P V Sindhu has signed a whopping four-year sports sponsorship deal in the tune of ₹50 crore with Chinese sports brand Li Ning.
The record deal comes after compatriot Kidambi Srikanth was offered a cool ₹35 crore over a period of four years by the Chinese company last month.
“Sindhu’s deal is one of the biggest in world badminton. It is close to ₹50 crore for sponsorship and equipment,” Mahender Kapoor, director, Sunlight Sports Pvt Ltd, the multi-national exclusive partner of Li-Ning in India, said.
“It will be a deal which is very close to Puma’s deal with Indian cricketer Virat Kohli in terms of yearly sponsorship. Sindhu will get ₹40 crore as sponsorship while the rest will be for equipment, so it is close to ₹50 crore,” Kapoor claimed.
Also Read: Kidambi Srikanth signs multi-crore deal with Chinese sports brand
In 2017, Puma had signed Kohli for reported deal of ₹100 crore endorsement deal for a period of eight years, which came down to 12.5 crore per year.
{{/usCountry}}In 2017, Puma had signed Kohli for reported deal of ₹100 crore endorsement deal for a period of eight years, which came down to 12.5 crore per year.
{{/usCountry}}Sindhu, who rose to stardom after becoming the first Indian woman to win a silver medal at the Rio Olympics, was listed as the world’s seventh-highest paid sportswoman on the Forbes list last year.
This is Li-Ning’s second stint with Sindhu, who was with them for two years in 2014-2015 for a sum of Rs.1.25 crore a year.
In 2016, Sindhu was back with Yonex for a ₹3.5 crore per year contract for a period of three years.
Li-Ning also roped in men’s doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy for a deal of ₹4 crore each for two years, while former Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap has been offered a ₹8 crore deal for two years.
The Chinese sports brand had also signed a two-year deal with Indian Olympic Association last year. As part of the deal, it will provide Indian athletes and officials with competition and training apparel, leisure-wear and footwear for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.