PV Sindhu signs lucrative four-year deal with Chinese sports brand
Indian women's badminton ace PV Sindhu has bagged a lucrative deal with Chinese sports brand Li Ning. The celebrated athlete is one of the highest-paid woman sportsperson in the world and this deal just got her even richer. The 2016 Rio Olympics proved to be the turning point for her. Here is more on the record deal signed by Sindhu.
Sindhu follows the footsteps of Kidambi Srikanth, who was offered a whopping Rs. 35 crore deal by the Chinese company last month. "Sindhu's deal is one of the biggest in world badminton. It is close to Rs. 50 crore for sponsorship and equipment," Mahender Kapoor, director, Sunlight Sports Pvt Ltd, the exclusive partner of Li Ning in India, revealed the same.
In 2017, sports brand Puma had signed Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli for a reported Rs. 100 crore endorsement deal. The deal was signed for a period of eight years. It comes down to Rs. 12.5 crore per year. Sindhu's breakdown of the deal will see her receive an amount in the region of Kohli. This is massive for the shuttler.
This is Li Ning's second stint with the Indian badminton player. Sindhu was associated with the company for a period of two years in 2014-15. In 2016, Sindhu was roped in by Yonex for a Rs. 3.5 crore per year contract in a three-year deal.
Besides Srikanth and Sindhu, the Chinese sports brand roped in several other Indian badminton players as well. The company also signed a two-year deal with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) last year. As part of the deal, it will be providing the Indian athletes and officials with apparels (both competition and training), leisure-wear and footwear for the next summer Olympics to be held in Tokyo.
