Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal signed an endorsement deal that promises her Rs 40 crore over the next three years, says a report in The Indian Express, adding that more surprising was the fact that the company that showed faith in the 22-year-old ace shuttler’s marketability has been managing India’s hottest sports brand — MS Dhoni — for a while now.
The firm’s first non-cricket tie-up points to the changing priorities of the marketing men. No, cricketers aren’t losing their status as the poster boys but Olympic achievers are well and truly climbing up the popularity charts and, also, the billboards.
Saina’s mega-deal is a just reward for her skill that has been honed by countless hours of hard work and many sacrifices, and which has allowed her to break the Chinese dominance in badminton consistently — previously considered next to impossible. For years, the more developed European nations such as Denmark and England have attempted to breach the impregnable Great Wall on badminton courts, but without success.
Meanwhile a report in DNA says that top Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has signed a three-year deal worth a reported 400 million ($7.4 million) with a sports management company, underlining badminton's growth in the otherwise cricket-crazy country. “The only non-Chinese in the top five of women's badminton, Nehwal won a bronze in this year's London Olympics and capped the celebrations by signing a contract with Rhiti Sports that makes her India's highest paid sportsperson outside cricket,” says the report.
"With Rhiti's background and credibility, they know how to balance things and that is a big plus point," Nehwal said in a media release.
Meanwhile The Times Of India report says that Saina, who has taken a break after the London Games, sounded quite excited about Sindhu's showing. She sees it as giant leap forward for Indian badminton. "Sindhu played brilliantly at Changzhou last week to beat London gold medallist Li Xuerui and I believe it is a clear sign of the upward movement in Indian badminton," Saina said.
"I hope my medal will inspire more and more people and also popularise the sport even more in the country."
The 22-year-old Saina will be back competing in three weeks from now when she plays in the Denmark Open Premier Super Series (Oct 16-21) and then in the French Open Super Series (Oct 23-28).