Why Sindhu is such a big deal

Sabi Hussain in New Delhi & Suresh Dharur in Hyderabad

Sabi Hussain in New Delhi & Suresh Dharur in Hyderabad

The brand value of PV Sindhu is now more than that of MS Dhoni. Just think about this —  a badminton player more valuable than a top cricketer.

When Pullela Gopichand wanted to take up sport as a kid, he was keen about tennis. His father first took him to a tennis centre, but there were too many cars and scooters there. Gopichand’s family had only a bicycle — tennis, they decided, was beyond their means. His father decided to direct Gopichand to the humble badminton, because it was a “lower-middle-class sport” more suited to his sons.

Now there’s nothing “lower-middle-class” about India’s top badminton players. The profile of the sport has rocketed in the last 16 years, thanks to Gopichand and his trainees such as Sindhu and Saina Nehwal. Sindhu and Saina are Olympics medallists, and multiple medal-winners at the World Championships. Saina and Sindhu are role models, suitably rewarded by an adoring public and fandom.

Riches and adulation aren’t restricted to badminton, of course — Vijender Singh, Sakshi Malik and Mary Kom — all Olympics medallists, are heroes. Their faces are increasingly visible through product endorsements, which is the surest marker of an achiever’s popularity and acceptability among people.

Olympian heights

The brand value of these athletes is directly proportionate to their on-field performance. In sports other than cricket, a sportsperson’s popularity peaks if s/he wins a medal at the Olympics, World Championships, and Commonwealth or Asian Games.

Saina won her first Olympics medal in London in 2012, but then she suffered a slowdown. In 2015, she staged a remarkable comeback, and was signed up by Delhi-based Infinity Optimal Solutions (IOS). “When we signed her after her World Championships silver medal in 2015, she had been endorsing 3-4 brands,” Neerav Tomar, founder-MD of IOS, which also handles Vijender and Mary Kom. “We brought her 3-4 more brands and her tally went up to 8-10 brands.”

“After she won the Olympics medal, Mary Kom, she got a dozen or so brands to endorse,” Tomar adds. “After so many years, she is still holding on to 6-7 brands. 

Take Vijender. When he won a medal at the Beijing Olympics, he was endorsing only a couple of brands. Then, of course, there was a period of lull, where he was no big performance from him.” His popularity got a new boost after he turned pro. “We researched his market value, brought him into the professional world of boxing,” says Tomar. Vijender has won nine fights in a row as a pro. The latest win, over China’s Zulpikar Maimaitiali in Mumbai last month, made him the toast of the nation -- people such as Amitabh Bachchan were left crowing his praise. “After the success on the pro circuit, his portfolio is again back into the market. He is endorsing big brands now,” says Tomar.

Success is sweet in monetary terms too: Mary Kom commands Rs 60-80 lakh per endorsement deal annually. Saina and Vijender are further ahead, in the vicinity of Rs 1-1.25 crore annually.

Sindhu’s rise

Sindhu has smashed the glass ceiling, emerging as India’s highest earning female athlete. The 21-year-old’s rise to the top 5 in world badminton rankings has boosted her endorsement value. Brand Sindhu has seen a meteoric rise ever after she won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics last year. She is now endorsing at least 11 brands and is the third-highest paid endorser after cricketers Virat Kohli and Dhoni. She’s the highest-paid non-cricket sportsperson in the country. 

Though sources close to her declined to divulge the specific financial details, it is estimated in the industry circles that Sindhu’s annual brand fees at could be in the Rs 2.5-3 crore region. The per-day remuneration for endorsements would be around Rs 75 lakh per brand.

At the end of 2016, she had signed six brand endorsement deals to the tune of Rs7.5 crore, according to a report by GroupM ESP, the sports and entertainment arm of media buying agency GroupM and sports business news company SportzPower.

Sindhu has also accepted a Group-I officer’s job offered by the Andhra Pradesh government. “She has to settle down one day. We understand it is a very good offer, and since Sindhu is still young, I think it will definitely help her,” said Sindhu’s mother P Vijaya, a former volleyball player.

In March this year, Sindhu signed two significant brand endorsement deals for Gatorade and Panasonic Energy India Co. Ltd. “No Indian woman has achieved what she has by winning a silver medal at the Olympics. That itself puts her in a unique position,” says Indranil Das Blah, Chief Operating Officer of Kwan Entertainment and Marketing Solutions.

Sakshi and Sushil

Sushil Kumar, the greatest Indian Olympian in individual sport, has won two medals in two Olympics, a bronze in 2008 and silver in 2012. Sushil could not make it to the 2016 Olympics, but his market value is still quite high. “The real turning point came after the 2012 London Olympics,” says Raman Raheja of Super Sports, which handles Sushil’s commmerical interests. “After that silver medal, his brand worth grew 5-6 times. He got to associate with leading brands. Nothing has changed for him in terms of his market value even after these 5-6 years. I can’t see any other male Olympic medallist breaching his domain.”

Sushil has endorsed pain-relief medication, a soft drink, a tractor and ghee, among other products. Sakshi Malik, winner of a bronze in the Rio Olympics, has endorsed a car, sporting gear and is a brand ambassador for gender equality. Sushil Rs 50 lakh-plus for an annual deal, a huge raise from the Rs 10 lakh or less he was making annually for endorsing a product. “An Olympic medal guarantees you commercial deals for at least another four-year cycle until the next Olympics, and a new medal winner is produced,” says Raheja. “Even an Asian Games or World Championships medal doesn’t make much impact.”

There are sceptics who believe that the financial numbers are grossly inflated. “I’m not sure if Sindhu actually get this sort of money,” said an industry insider. “It’s a common practice in sports marketing to inflate the numbers, even in cricket, to boost their earning capacity. I’d be very surprised if Sindhu gets the kind of money that is being claimed.”

Irrespective of the inflation theory, the commercial success of Sindhu, Saina, Sakshi and Vijender is significant because traditionally their sports haven’t enjoyed much patronage. In a market captured by cricket, they have created niches for themselves — a testament to their success in sport.