Smash hits
With as many as four shuttlers in the world’s top 10 and impressive tournament successes, there’s money in Indian badminton like never before, writes Dhruv Munjal
year. Withtwonewteamsandmorematches, we hopetobreakallpreviousrecords,” saysAtul Pande, managingdirector, SportzLive, thesports managementfirmthatholdsthelicensingrights fortheleague.
“Badmintonwillonlyboomfromhere. As longasgoodplayerskeepcominginand audienceinterestisretained, moneywillbe good,” sayssportsbrandexpertHarshSaluja.“At theendoftheday, it’ssuchanentertainingsport.”
The rise of Indian badminton, first fuelled by
Nehwal’s bronze at the London Olympics in 2012 and further vitalised by Sindhu’s silver in Rio last year, has been remarkable. This is perhaps the first time that India has had so many players capable of taking on— and often beating— the world’s best in any sport; the first time an individual sport has seen more than one genuinely world-class athlete in the same era. There is little wonder then that Prakash Padukone, former All England Champion and Indian badminton’s original trailblazer, describes this as a “golden period” for the sport in the country.
“Badminton is now getting the media attention it truly merits. And with the players performing so well and willing to participate in national tournaments as well, the sponsors are coming in. It’s great for the sport,” he says.
Whilebeingamongthetop 10inanyinternationalsport comeswithitssharesofobvious financialrewards, owingtothe relativenoveltyassociatedwith successinbadminton, the richesofIndianbadminton starshavebeenaugmentedby recognitionreceivedfromstate governmentsandsports federations. Sindhuwalkedawaywithcashprizes worthmorethan~10croreafterherRio performance. Fouryearsearlier, Nehwalhad receivedcashawards, too, butnotinthesame astronomicalrangeasSindhu.
Funnily, CarolinaMarinwhobeatSindhuin theRiofinalreceivedonly^94,000(~70lakh) fromtheSpanishgovernment, andwas understandably“shocked” whenshewas informedabouthowSindhuwasfelicitatedafter returningfromtheOlympics. ThatSpaincame backhomewith17medalsasagainstIndia’s paltrytwoprobablycontributedtothedisparity inthiscase.
The PBL, however, has givenMarin an opportunity to somewhat bridge that significant gap. In 2016, the former World No 1 was snapped up by Hyderabad Hunters for ~61.5 lakh. The franchise retained her earlier this year by shelling out another ~50 lakh. Marin is tipped to profit even more if she powers the Hunters to an impressive showing this season— a total prize money of almost ~6 crore is on offer this time around.
But Marin was upstaged by another promising Indian this time, too. Her bidding price was short of what H S Prannoy— the secondhighest ranked Indian in the world at 10— received from the Smash Masters. Prannoy left the auction ~62 lakh richer and with his burgeoning reputation as the country’s brightest young shuttler well intact. India’s other budding hope, Sai Praneeth, cost the Bengaluru Blasters ~40 lakh.
“Three years into the competition, it’s good to see Indian players get top billing. Even better is the depth that is on show. It is a matter of pride,” says Pullela Gopichand, India’s national coach who has been massively influential in catapulting Sindhu from a gangly, unrefined hopeful to worldslaying colossus.
WhenGopichandwontheAll EnglandChampionshipsin2001, the onlyIndianmantodososince Padukone’s1980triumph, the conceptofabadmintonleaguewas fairlyalienanddeemedoutlandish. Theprizemoneywaslargely ungenerous, andsupportfromthegovernment andsponsorsscantwhencomparedwithtoday.
“If you play well in today’s times, the rewards will come. Indian players have now started seeing badminton as a serious career option,” says Gopichand.
A few former players point to the contribution made by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), which, unlike most other sports bodies in the country, is now seen as a playerfriendly organisation where the promotion of badminton takes precedence over all else. At the nationals in Nagpur in November, for instance, BAI increased the total prize money to ~1 crore — up by 10 times from last year. And, a sum of ~50,000 was promised to players from the prequarter final stage itself.
In some ways, the bait instantly worked. Missing from the tournament for the previous few years, both Sindhu and Nehwal signed up for the event. A box-office final saw the duo fight it out in two thrilling games, with Nehwal eventually thwarting her younger opponent. What more, they were furiously cheered on by a sold-out crowd at Mankapur’s Divisional Sports Complex — a rarity for a domestic badminton tournament. On the men’s side, Srikanth, Prannoy, Praneeth and Parupalli Kashyap all turned out, too. It is difficult to conclude with certainty if money was the only catalyst here, but the revival of the national championships was long overdue.
“Ithelpseveryonewhenthetopplayerstake outtimeandplayinthenationals. Iwishthis happensinthefutureaswell,” saysPadukone.
“BAIhasrealisedthatwithplayersdoingwell ininternationaltournaments, theycannolonger beseenasnotdoingenoughforthesport. Atthe endoftheday, theplayers’successalsomakes themlookgood,” saysanofficial, whodoesnot wishtobenamed.
AT THE PBL AUCTION, H S PRANNOY AND SAI PRANEETH WENT FOR ~62 LAKH AND ~40 LAKH, RESPECTIVELY
An apt reflection of this success has come in the form of fervent advertiser interest. Sindhu is currently endorsing a host of brands, including Myntra, Moov and Bank of Baroda, and is speculated to charge ~1-1.25 crore a day. In Indian sport, only Virat Kohli is paid more.
Until a couple of years of ago, Nehwal’s credentials were a similar object of captivation for endorsers. At one time, the former World No 1 was lending her name to around 10 brands that included Herbalife, Nomarks, Emami and Iodex. Injuries and a subsequent slump in form have seen that interest dwindle substantially.
“That badminton is an individual sport helps; viewers appreciate players’ success more. As for Sindhu, she is still very young and fits the bill for all these brands perfectly,” says Saluja. In the Duff & Phelps report, “Rise of the Millennials: India’s Most Valuable Celebrity Brands”, which was released earlier this week, Sindhu occupied 15th spot with a brand