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Indian shooter <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=abhinav+bindra&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Abhinav Bindra </a>made it to the final of the 10m air rifle event whereas his compatriot <keyword id="20664" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="gagan-narang">Gagan Narang</keyword> missed out. 
 
Bindra finished with a score of 625.7 in the seventh position. 
 
The legendary shooter, who is representing the country for the last time, has been in the spotlight ever since the announcement of his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=olympics&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Rio</a> qualification. 
 
Bindra swung within the first 10 but Narang completely lost the plot in the long run. 
 
Both of them had a good start (10.4 and 10.5). In fact, Narang scored 53 in his first five shots. 
 
At the end of the first series, Narang was in the first position with a score of 105.3, Bindra scored 104.3 and stood 10th. 
 
By the third series, the tables turned. Bindra secured the second position with 314.6 while Narang was pushed down to 21st with 311.9 from where he couldn’t recover. 
 
The final is scheduled to start at 8.30 pm.

Rio 2016: Abhinav Bindra qualifies for 10m air rifle final, Gagang Narang misses out

<keyword id="1877816" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Abhinav-Singh-Bindra">Abhinav Singh Bindra</keyword>, India’s Olympic champion, doesn’t need any introduction. He has proudly represented India in many international <keyword id="150" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shooting">shooting</keyword> championships. 
 
Today, as he announced the end of his professional shooting career, let’s have a look at his achievements, and also, difficulties that he overcame to bring his fame to home—India that is. 
 
Set Records, Created History 
· When he was just 15 years of age, Bindra became the youngest participant to participate in the 1998 Commonwealth Games. 
· He won Bronze in the 2001 Munich World Cup, setting a new junior world record score of 597/600. 
· He was all of 18 who represented in the 2000 Olympics game; youngest Indian participant to achieve this feat. 
· In 2001, he won six gold medals at various international meets. 
· At the 2002 Commonwealth Games, he won a Gold medal in the Pairs event with Sameer Ambedkar, and an individual Silver medal. 
· At the 49th ISSF World Shooting Championships, he became the first Indian shooter to win gold in a World Championship. · At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, he won the Gold in the Pairs event with <keyword id="20664" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="gagan-narang">Gagan Narang</keyword> and an individual Bronze. 
· At the 2008 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the Men's 10m Air Rifle event. 
· At the 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, he didn’t only get the honour of being the flag-bearer for the Indian contingent, but also took the athletes' oath on behalf of the 6,700 participants from 71 countries and territories. 
· He set a record by scoring 1193 in 10m air rifle pair's event for men with Gagan Narang and won India her first Gold. He also won an individual Silver medal. 
· At the 2012 Asian Shooting Championships, he won the Gold medal in the Men's 10-metre Air rifle event. 
· At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he won Gold medal in the Men’s 10m air rifle singles event. 
· At the 2014 Asian Games, he secured an individual Bronze in Men's 10m Air Rifle. 
· He is the first and as of yet, the only Indian to have held both the World and Olympic titles together. 
 
Had A Tough Road To Fame 
All these achievements didn’t reach him (Bindra) easy. He had to overcome several hurdles, like: 
 
· In the 2000 Olympics, Bindra was placed 11th in the qualification round, and thus couldn’t qualify for the finals. 
· In the 2004 Olympics, he broke the Olympic record but didn’t win a medal. 
· He could not attend the 2006 Asian Games because of a back injury. 
· In the 2012 Olympics, he finished in the 16th place, and didn’t get through the finals. 
 
Some Less-know Facts About Bindra 
Other than being a competent shooter, he also penned his autobiography, which is tited A Shot at History: My Obsessive Journey to Olympic Gold. He co-authored the autobiography with sportswriter Rohit Brijnath. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Colorado. He also runs a company called Abhinav Futuristics, which is the only Indian distributor of Walther arms, a German arms manufacturer. He is the brand ambassador of Steel Authority of India Limited and is a member of FICCI Sports Committee. 
 
Image: Indiatimes

Abhinav Bindra Bids Adieu To Shooting

It is never too late to rise and shine. As if to salvage India’s image that was lost when the country hosted the <keyword id="6354367" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Commonwealth-Games">Commonwealth Games</keyword> in 2010 in New Delhi, Indian sportspersons continue to shine in the medal race at the C’wealth Games being held in <keyword id="69738" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Glasgow">Glasgow</keyword> this year. 
 Some of the media favourites like <keyword id="28211" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Abhinav-Bindra">Abhinav Bindra</keyword>, <keyword id="10633" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sushil-Kumar">Sushil Kumar</keyword> and <keyword id="20664" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="gagan-narang">Gagan Narang</keyword> have had a great showing. But Indians are a tad disappointed as shuttler Saina Nehwal, the country’s biggest medal hope, pulled out of the Games owing to fitness issues. 
 
The 215-strong Indian contingent participating in the Commonwealth Games 2014 has staged some excellent performances this year. Incidentally, controversies marred the last edition of the Games hosted by India four years ago and clearly took some shine off the excellent showing of Indian sports stars at that time. 
 
But this time around, hopes were as strong as the performances put up by Indians. Among the 6,500 sports persons representing 71 nations across 17 sports, India is sitting snug at the sixth spot. Although this is a ‘fall’ of sorts from the earlier ranking, India may very well finish with third or fourth highest medal tally. 
 
Some of the finest stories of non-celebrities evolving into heroes, based on their dedication, focus, hard work and commitment (laced with the smallest share of luck), are being written here. For instance, there is weightlifter Satish Kumar Sivalingam whom we hardly know. He hails from a poor family in Tamil Nadu, but has now secured his place in the hearts of millions by making his country proud. Sivalingam, a humble Railways employee, won the gold in men’s weightlifting 77kg category. 
 
However, India’s ace sharpshooters mostly called the shots in the medal hunt. Apart from Bindra winning the gold in men’s 10m air rifle and Narang settling for the silver medal in 50m rifle prone event, Jitu Rai bagged the gold medal in men’s 50m while Gurpal Singh followed him with the silver. 
 
Shooters and wrestlers came up with a stunning show at the Games, winning majority of the gold medals in India’s medal haul. Having won 41 medals in all, India has so far got 10 gold medals, 19 silvers and 12 bronzes. 
 
Wrestler Sushil Kumar, who carried the weight of India’s aspirations, will also return home to a hero’s welcome. He led the charge of Indian wrestlers who won three of the five gold medals up for grabs at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, the venue for wrestling competitions. 
 
Interestingly, the ongoing Commonwealth Games is his first major international event after his favourite 66kg category was removed and he had to pile up 9kg to qualify for the new weight category. In the Glasgow Games, four sports categories have been removed, reducing the mega event to only 17 categories. 
 
Prior to Sushil Kumar, Amit Kumar and Vinesh Phogat made India proud with excellent performance in their respective categories. Amit won gold in men’s freestyle 57kg by beating Nigerian Ebikweminomo Welson, teenager Vinesh held the country’s flag high by clinching an 11-8 victory against England’s Yana Rattigan in the women’s freestyle 48kg wrestling. 
 
The medal haul continued with marksmen Sanjeev Rajput and Narang winning medals (silver and bronze, respectively, in men’s 50m rifle 3 position) for the country. Lajja Goswami also won the bronze in women’s 50m rifle 3 position category.

India Shining: Medal Hunt Meets Success At Commonwealth Games 2014

The upcoming <keyword id="23311823" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Executive-Council-meeting" source="keywords">executive council meeting</keyword> of the <keyword id="19896477" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-Olympic-Association" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Indian Olympic Association" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Indian Olympic Association">Indian Olympic Association</keyword> (<keyword id="19934453" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IOA" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="IOA" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="IOA">IOA</keyword>) is poised to be a contentious gathering as various contentious issues are added to the agenda. One of the primary topics of discussion will be the alleged "threatening letters" issued by the IOA president, <keyword id="20284696" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="PT-Usha" source="keywords">PT Usha</keyword>, to council members. This meeting is taking place amidst escalating tensions between Usha and IOA treasurer <keyword id="21208123" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sahdev-Yadav" source="keywords">Sahdev Yadav</keyword>. On Tuesday, Yadav announced his intention to pursue legal action against Usha, claiming that she defamed him following her issuance of a show cause notice related to a complaint questioning his eligibility for the treasurer position. The agenda for the meeting has expanded to include 14 points, prominently featuring discussions around the "illegal and threatening letters issued by the President to the members of the Executive Committee from time to time." Additionally, the council plans to explore the scope of the president's powers under the IOA Constitution and will consider whether to report the president's conduct to the IOA <keyword id="23311824" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ethics-Commission" source="keywords">Ethics Commission</keyword>. A joint communication regarding the meeting was issued by 12 council members, including senior vice president <keyword id="21151445" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ajay-Patel" source="keywords">Ajay Patel</keyword>, vice-presidents Rajalaxmi Singh Deo and Gagan Narang—an Olympic medallist — along with former wrestler and council member Yogeshwar Dutt. Notably, members who refrained from signing this communication include boxer M.C. Mary Kom and table tennis player A. Sharath Kamal, both of whom are part of the IOA athletes' commission. <h2>Focus on recent <keyword id="19933819" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Olympics" source="keywords">Olympics</keyword> and financial concerns</h2>The meeting will also address significant matters related to the recent Paris Olympics. Key topics will include an examination of sponsorship agreements and "additional expenditures" incurred during the event, such as the costs associated with the president's room upgrades, which are alleged to have been covered by the IOA. Furthermore, the council will discuss the accreditation process, including the distribution of accreditation cards and various passes and invites issued during the Olympics. Another important point of discussion will be the selection process for the <keyword id="23311825" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sportsperson-of-Outstanding-Merit" source="keywords">Sportsperson of Outstanding Merit</keyword> (SOM) from November 2022 and the implications for their participation in the IOA elections for elected positions. The athletes' commission previously designated eight SOMs, including Usha, Yogeshwar Dutt, MM Somaya (hockey), Rohit Rajpal (tennis), Akhil Kumar (boxing), Shuma Sirur (shooting), Aparna Popat (badminton), and Dola Banerjee (archery). As the meeting approaches, the air is thick with anticipation regarding how these issues will unfold and the potential implications for the IOA's governance and integrity. (With inputs from PTI)

Indian Olympic Association to soon hold council meeting to address PT Usha’s “threatening letters”, accreditation card controversy and more

Celebrated wrestler <keyword id="19895499" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vinesh-Phogat" source="keywords">Vinesh Phogat</keyword> on Saturday received a grand welcome on her return to the country with hundreds of supporters gathering outside the <keyword id="20219207" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IGI-airport" source="keywords">IGI airport</keyword>, showing immense solidarity with her. Stars such as <keyword id="19910804" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bajrang-Punia" source="keywords">Bajrang Punia</keyword>, <keyword id="19895495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sakshi-Malik" source="keywords">Sakshi Malik</keyword> and panchayat leaders received Vinesh, who endured a heartbreaking exit at the Paris <keyword id="19933819" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Olympics" source="keywords">Olympics</keyword>, where she was disqualified for being overweight on the day of her 50kg final. Heavily garlanded, Vinesh stood in an open Jeep and thanked all the supporters."I thank the entire country," she said, her hands folded in humility. There was a thick security cover as Phogat, who was found 100 grams overweight just before the Olympic finals, landed in the national capital. Vinesh's caravan left for her native village Balali in Haryana, and on the way she met her supporters, positioned at different spots. A group of 50 followed her jeep. They offered prayers at a temple in Delhi's Dwarka before continuing their journey towards Balali. Vinesh had stayed back in Paris after challenging her disqualification in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and demanding a joint silver. The application was dismissed on Wednesday. "She has come back to her country after such a long time. She is very emotional also. She will spend time with family and calm herself. What Vinesh has done for women is praiseworthy. She might not have received a medal, but she is a champion for us," said Sakshi Malik. London Olympics bronze medal-winning shooter Gagan Narang, who was the chief de mission of the Indian contingent in Paris, called her a champion, posting a photo with Phogat at the Paris airport. Both of them were on the same flight to Delhi. "People are waiting to welcome her at our village. People are exciting to meet Vinesh and encourage her," her brother, Harvinder Phogat said. The feisty wrestler, in her first reaction after her disqualification, on Saturday said that under "different circumstances" she could see herself competing till 2032 because she still has a lot of wrestling left in her, but is now unsure about her future as things "might never be same again". Vinesh had announced her retirement from the sport after her disqualification. In an emotional post on social media, Vinesh shared her childhood dream, the hardships she faced after losing her father and also put on record the contribution made by people in her extraordinary journey that ended in heartbreak in Paris.

Vinesh Phogat returns to hero's welcome after Paris heartbreak

A squad full of debutants, free from past baggage will aim to ace the ultimate test of their lives when the shooting competition of the <keyword id="4833237" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Paris-Olympics" source="Orion">Paris Olympics</keyword> begins in the sleepy French town of Chateauroux on Friday. <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword> has won four Olympic medals in shooting out of its overall tally of 35 but none in the last two editions of the Summer Games, putting the additional pressure of expectations on the record 21-member Indian contingent based in central France. The national shooting federation, National Rifle Association of India (<keyword id="19910689" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NRAI" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="NRAI" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="NRAI">NRAI</keyword>), chose current form over pedigree to pick the squad for the mega event and it will be hoping they hit the bullseye at the <keyword id="22557904" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Shooting-Centre" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="National Shooting Centre" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="National Shooting Centre">National Shooting Centre</keyword> here. Even the quota winners were made to battle out in the trials with the inexperienced Sandeep Singh pipping 2022 world champion Rudranksh Patil, who had secured India's quota in the 10m air rifle. Patil wrote to NRAI proposing his selection in the team despite finishing behind Sandeep in the trials, but the federation stuck to its guns. The athletes have been training away from the hustle and bustle of <keyword id="19916613" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paris" source="keywords">Paris</keyword> and that could work in their favour come competition day. Barring <keyword id="20241095" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="manu-bhaker" source="keywords">Manu Bhaker</keyword>, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Anjum Moudgil and Elavenil Valarivan, all will experience the biggest sporting stage for the first time. India will have representation in all 15 shooting events. It is not just peak performance on the day that matters in the Olympics, luck too plays a major part. The 22-year-old Bhaker, who has won a bagful of medals in world events, had a stroke of bad luck at the Tokyo Games where her weapon malfunctioned in 10m <keyword id="20105950" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="air-pistol" source="keywords">air pistol</keyword> qualification and she could not recover from that setback. She will be taking part in three disciplines - 10m air pistol, 25m pistol and 10m pistol mixed team. India's main challenge will come from China who are also fielding 21 shooters across disciplines. Another women shooter to watch out for will be Sift Kaur Samra, who won the 50m rifle three positions gold at the Asian Games. Moudgil, one of the seasoned pros in the squad, is making a comeback and will lineup alongside Sift in the women's 50m rifle three positions. Twenty-year-old Rhythm Sangwan will be participating in two events, women's 10m air pistol alongside Bhaker and the 10m air pistol mixed team. "The preparation has been going good. The range is beautiful. I was a little upset staying away from main village in Paris. It is not as I expected but I am here for the competition and win and not pass any comments on the Games Village. Olympics is the biggest stage out here," said Sangwan. Among the male participants, only Tomar has been part of the Olympics before. Tomar, member of the gold winning team at the 2023 World Championships, will be seen in the men's 50m rifle three positions alongside Swapnil Kusale. The male debutants who have a decent international experience include Anish Bhanwala, Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Babuta, Arjun Singh Cheema and Vijayveer Singh. Gagan Narang, the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist who is here as India's chef de mission, is backing the shooters to end the <keyword id="22557903" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="medal-drought" source="keywords">medal drought</keyword> in this edition. "My first Olympic experience was in 2004 and I remember at that time, we were not as confident as we are today. There is genuine belief that we are at par with the best in the world," said Narang. The biggest test of the shooters' lives awaits. Full squad Rifle: Men's 10m air rifle: Sandeep Singh, Arjun Babuta Women's 10m air rifle: Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita Jindal Women's 50m rifle 3 positions: Sift Kaur Samra, Anjum Moudgil Men's 50m rifle 3 positions: Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale 10m air rifle mixed team: Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan, Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal Pistol: Men's 10m air pistol: Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Cheema Women's 10m air pistol: Manu Bhaker, Rhythm Sangwan Men's 25m rapid fire pistol: Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu Women's 25m pistol: Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh 10m air pistol mixed team: Sarabjot Singh/Manu Bhaker, Arjun Singh Cheema/Rhythm Sangwan Shotgun: Men's trap: Prithviraj Tondaiman Women's trap: Rajeshwari Kumari, Shreyasi Singh Men's skeet: Anantjeet Singh Naruka Women's skeet: Maheshwari Chauhan, Raiza Dhillon Skeet mixed team: Anantjeet Singh Naruka/Maheshwari Chauhan.

Record shooting contingent out to end India's 12-year medal drought

Hangzhou, A daily wage labourer's son from an impoverished village in Uttar Pradesh, <keyword id="84384" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="asian-games" source="Orion">Asian Games</keyword> bronze medallist race walker <keyword id="12117720" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ram-baboo" source="Orion">Ram Baboo</keyword>'s journey from penury to fame is a fascinating story of a strong-willed man making his own destiny. Baboo, who won a 35km race walk mixed team bronze medal in the Asian Games along with Manju Rani, worked as a waiter to self-finance his athletics training and joined his father in road construction under MGNREGA scheme during the COVID-19 lockdown, as his family was hard-pressed. "I have done everything possible in my life so far, from working as a waiter in Varanasi to digging up pits along with my father for road construction under MGNREGA scheme at our village," the 24-year-old Baboo told PTI in an interview. "It's about determination and focus on your goal. If you are determined to achieve, you will find ways to reach your goal. That is what I did." Baboo's father works as manual labourer at Behura village at UP's Sonbhadra district, earning Rs 3000 to 3500 per month which is not enough to run a family of six. Baboo is the only son while he has three sisters. His mother is a homemaker and sometimes helps her husband in his work. "We don't have any land and my father is a labourer. His work is seasonal. During paddy season, he will have more work but in other months his income is less. So, I need to do all these things to realise my dream," he said. "I was not good at studies and not interested also and so I wanted to make a career in sports." Due to his mother's insistence, Baboo took the entrance examination for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) near his home and got selected. He was admitted to class VI. Baboo found it tough to follow what was being taught at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya and he began to lose interest in studies. Two years into the JNV stint, something made him decide on his future course of action towards his goal -- the 2012 Olympics -- where India won six medals. "I was in class VII then and I watched at my school hostel television the likes of Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal, Sushil Kumar and Gagan Narang winning medals. The stories also came out in newspaper front pages the next day, and I read all of them. "In fact, I kept cuttings of the newspaper articles and photos of the 2012 Olympics medal winners and kept them in my folder." When he was at the JNV, he played all sports, including football, and he found out that he did not get easily tired even after a lot of running, unlike the other students. That was when he decided he would do long distance running. He initially ran marathons, 10000m and 5000m but developed knee pain. On the advice of local coach Pramod Yadav, he later shifted to race walking which does not put too much pressure on his knees. Baboo might have been born to semi-illiterate parents but he used social media to his advantage. "I opened a facebook account and joined several FB groups relating to fitness and long distance running to find out who can help me in my endeavour." In 2017, when he was around 17 years old, Baboo left for Varanasi where there is a proper athletics stadium and there he got in touch with coach Chandrabahan Yadav. He took a rented house at Rs 1500 a month. His parents sent him a small amount of money and so he worked part-time as a waiter for one month. "I got Rs 3000 per month for working as a waiter but they made me work till midnight and even at 1am. I had to get up at 4am for training at the stadium. It was very difficult for me. People did not respect me and misbehaved with me. So I left Varanasi and returned home." In 2019, Baboo was able to convince a coach at Bhopal SAI Centre to take him under his wings. He then competed in the 50km event at the National Race Walk Championships in February 2020, just before the nation-wide COVID-19 lockdown, and finished fourth. During the lockdown, the Bhopal SAI Centre was shut and Baboo returned home. His parents were finding it difficult to get work to survive. "Luckily, we got work under the MGNREGA scheme and I helped my father in digging pits in road construction work. One person would get Rs 300 to 400 per day depending on the amount of work," he said. After working for one and a half months under the MGNREGA scheme, Baboo became restless, and he left for Bhopal again. In February 2021, he won a 50km race walk silver medal in the National Race Walk Championships and that paved the way for his entry into the Army Sports Institute in Pune with the help of coach Basant Rana. After the World Athletics decided to remove the 50km event from its programme, Baboo shifted to 35km event and won gold in the National Open Championships in September 2021, and a few months later, he was called to the national camp in Bengaluru. After winning gold in 35km at the National Games last year with national record time, Baboo got a job in the Army, and he is a havildar now. "My age at that time was 11 months more than that in the eligibility criteria but I got exemption after winning the National Games gold. I am currently under probation till next month and I am getting around Rs 10000, which is the basic pay. "After this, I will get full salary and I will be able to look after my parents properly." Baboo also said that he will shift to 20km race walk from next season as the mixed team event is unpredictable because the combined timing of male and female competitors of a country is taken into consideration for medal. "You never know, my colleague (woman race walker) may not be able to do well on a particular day, she may be sick but still taking part or she may be disqualified during the competition. All these are not in my hands. "So, I am shifting to a 20km event from next year."

A MNREGA worker who won a bronze medal at the Asian Games: The fascinating story of Ram Baboo

Forget on-the-field, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=indian+sportspersons&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Indian sportpersons</a> are winning it off-the-field as well. When it comes to brand endorsements, Indian athletes are bagging multi-crore deals with various brands and companies to endorse products. 
 Even though cricketers are winning the brand endorsement game hands down, many sportspersons such as <keyword id="28211" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Abhinav-Bindra">Abhinav Bindra</keyword>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=saina+nehwal&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Saina Nehwal</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=gagan+narang&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Gagan Narang</a>, etc are also bagging deals worth crores. 
 
The latest to join the bandwagon of multi-crore brand deals becomes cricket’s current heartthrob, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=virat+kohli&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Virat Kohli</a>, who has just signed a Rs 110-crore deal with Puma, pegging him right up the order. 
 
Here are 6 Indian sportspersons who are winning the endorsement game with aplomb

6 Indian sportspeople with the biggest ad-deals

<ul><li>Sony Sports has played a key role in bringing non-cricket sports to India.</li><li>This year, Sony Sports is the official broadcaster of the once-in-a-four-year global sports event, Tokyo Olympics.</li><li>Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India tells us how the broadcaster is trying to popularize other sports in India, its plans to immerse consumers with innovative marketing and more.</li></ul>With the lockdown being enforced, subsequent stoppage of play on the field and IPL getting postponed, advertisers have been starved of a good sporting tournament. After the pandemic, many sports properties have either been cancelled or postponed, directly affecting India’s ad revenue and sponsorship pie. While India’s most worshipped sport, cricket, still dominates viewership and sponsorship, <keyword id="3132005" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sony-Pictures-Network">Sony Pictures Network</keyword> (SNP) has given its fans more choices between sporting events and SonyLiv has given them options in terms of what, when and how much to watch, leading to a rise in demand for subscription viewing in live sports. After a long, dry spell, millions of Indians are expected to tune into Tokyo Olympics this year. Sponsors and brands have also started seeing the Olympics as the one occasion to capitalise on the media and consumer attention. As a result, Sony Sports has seen an uptick in demand from sponsors and advertisers across categories for the summer games. To help its advertisers get the best bang for their buck, SPN launched an ‘innovative’ advertising format ‘Split-screen ads,’ which has <a href="https://twitter.com/Archit_0106/status/1418542834395729923">gained </a><a href="https://twitter.com/PrashantMUFC/status/1420988968238161920">mixed </a><a href="https://twitter.com/LifeIsAnElation/status/1418552243893116935">reviews </a>on social media. We caught up with Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India to further understand what kind of response the broadcaster and streaming player has seen from advertisers and sponsors, how it is trying to increase non-sporting events’ viewership in india <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. This year, brands across categories have started to roll out campaigns celebrating the inspirational journey of athletes. This wasn't the case a few years ago. More and more advertisers are exploring international sports that represent India. Are advertisers open to exploring sports beyond cricket now?" text="Q. This year, brands across categories have started to roll out campaigns celebrating the inspirational journey of athletes. This wasn't the case a few years ago. More and more advertisers are exploring international sports that represent India. Are advertisers open to exploring sports beyond cricket now?">Q. This year, brands across categories have started to roll out campaigns celebrating the inspirational journey of athletes. This wasn't the case a few years ago. More and more advertisers are exploring international sports that represent India. Are advertisers open to exploring sports beyond cricket now?</cmsannotation> Indians have always been extremely supportive of the Indian athletes when they compete at a global stage. Their performances are celebrated as it is a huge thing to even get to participate, let alone winning a medal at Olympics. More and more business houses/organizations/brands have started promoting various athletes and or Indian contingent. Sports in India is growing dramatically as an entertainment option beyond just cricket. This year. Sony Sports has embarked on a mission to popularize the athletes participating in the <keyword id="7932992" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="olympic-games-tokyo-2020">Olympic Games Tokyo 2020</keyword> and to make them household names. Sony Sports launched the grandest ever campaign in the history of Indian Olympics, Hum Honge Kamyab to galvanize the whole nation to cheer for the India contingent. From the honorable Prime minister of India himself to the sports minister as well as industrialists, sports personalities, philanthropists, Bollywood Superstars, Youtube influencers joined us in our endeavor. Sony Sports has collaborated with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as well as eminent personalities and joining the brigade are Union Minister for I&amp;B and Youth Affairs &amp; Sports, Shri Anurag Thakur, General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff and Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and Mr. N.P. Singh, MD &amp; CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India, along with Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Sajjan Jindal, Sudha Murty, Nita Ambani, Gautam Adani, Rana Daggubati, Yuvraj Singh, Anjali Bhagwat, Parth Jindal, Boman Irani, Farhan Akhtar, Sonakshi Sinha, Johnny Lever, Ali Fazal, Adille Sumariwala, Arshad Warsi, Pullela Gopichand, Vijender Singh, Anjali Bhagwat, Harsha Bhogle, Shankar Mahadevan, Anurag Basu, and many more to catalyze the Olympic momentum in the nation for the landmark event. This was unprecedented and Sony Sports’ efforts have pumped up the volume of Olympics in India and the #Olympicsjosh decibels have gone up to another level. <div type="Youtube" id="-bnwo0ezgQE" title="Watch PV Sindhu, Manu Bhaker, Mary Kom, Deepak Kumar, Hockey (M) &amp; others LIVE, TOM, July 25 on Sony" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-bnwo0ezgQE/mqdefault.jpg"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. Can you tell us what kind of interest you have seen from advertisers and brands?" text="Q. Can you tell us what kind of interest you have seen from advertisers and brands?">Q. Can you tell us what kind of interest you have seen from advertisers and brands?</cmsannotation> We have received a phenomenal response from advertisers and we have got sponsors on board across categories like beverages, FMCG, education, automobiles, banking, finance, gaming, sports foundations amongst others. The sponsors are Coca-Cola India Pvt. Ltd., LIC, JSW, MPL, Hero MotoCorp, Amul, Reserve Bank of India, AMFI and other advertisers include Visa, Byju’s, Adani Group, Herbalife Nutrition &amp; Lenovo and more. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. This once-in-a-four-year sports event attracts eyeballs from across the world hosting sports such as shooting, wrestling, long jump, and hockey. Which sport do you think will perform the best in India in terms of viewership?" text="Q. This once-in-a-four-year sports event attracts eyeballs from across the world hosting sports such as shooting, wrestling, long jump, and hockey. Which sport do you think will perform the best in India in terms of viewership?">Q. This once-in-a-four-year sports event attracts eyeballs from across the world hosting sports such as shooting, wrestling, long jump, and hockey. Which sport do you think will perform the best in India in terms of viewership?</cmsannotation> We expect great Sports like Wrestling, Shooting, Archery and Hockey, which have also done extremely well on TV in the past, due to the medal winning performances by Indian Athletes. Additionally, there has been high interest to watch Athletics and Gymnastics, owing to the visually engaging nature of the sports. During the 2016 Rio Olympics, Badminton had the highest viewership owing to PV Sindhu winning a silver medal. The final match between PV Sindhu and Carolina Marin was watched by 42 million viewers across the country. This year, we have our largest contingent ever of 127 athletes travelling to Tokyo and the whole nation will want to support and watch our athletes in the various sports disciplines they are competing in like boxing, wrestling, tennis, athletics, badminton, hockey, shooting, archery, weightlifting, Equestrian, Table tennis and more. Some of the athletes that the audiences are already looking out for are Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary in shooting, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia in wrestling, Amit Panghal and Mary Kom in boxing, Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das, PV Sindu in badminton and more. Also, for the first time, we will see participation in fencing with Bhavani Devi and Fouaad Mirza making it to the equestrian event which will also attract audiences. Additionally, to reach out to a wider audience and engage viewers across India, Sony Sports will have a Live wraparound studio show called SPORTS EXTRAAA with a distinguished panel that comprising former Olympians and legendary Indian athletes like Vijender Singh, Gagan Narang, Karnam Malleswari, Anjali Bhagwat, Anju Bobby George, Sakshi Malik, Viren Rasquinha, Somdev Devvarman, Trupti Murgunde, Rahul Banerjee, Kripa Shankar and Satish Shivalingam. We will also have the world-renowned Sprinter and four-time Olympic medalist, Yohan Blake, considered to be the second fastest man after Usain Bolt as a marquee expert on the show. The comprehensive coverage for the global event will be broadcast LIVE in four languages: SONY TEN 2 and SONY SIX channels in English, SONY TEN 3 channels in Hindi and in Tamil &amp; Telugu on the newly launched SONY TEN 4 channels. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. How do brands get to benefit from advertising on Olympics through Sony this year? What is your advice to brands who are advertising? How can they get the best bang for their buck?" text="Q. How do brands get to benefit from advertising on Olympics through Sony this year? What is your advice to brands who are advertising? How can they get the best bang for their buck?">Q. How do brands get to benefit from advertising on Olympics through Sony this year? What is your advice to brands who are advertising? How can they get the best bang for their buck?</cmsannotation> The Olympic Games is an extremely premium global sporting event, the greatest show on earth with 200+ countries, 11000+ athletes across 339 events in 33 different sports, encompassing a total of 50 disciplines. As I mentioned earlier, this year, we have rolled out the grandest campaign for this showcase event involving 30+ luminaries across the country. The sheer association to the Olympics for any brand will create and drive great brand perception and awareness value. We have offered value-based propositions to our clients and have ensured that we amplify their associations with athletes in the Indian contingent which they might be sponsoring. The brands have also been given the opportunity to ride on the back of the amazing build- up programming which we have locally produced adding to the brands association and visibility. Series like “Torch bearers” are resonating well with our audiences. We are also excited to offer a new breakthrough innovation “Split Screen” advertisement opportunity during the live broadcast. This will help the brands break away from the clutter and amplifies the brand’s visibility manifold without intruding into the viewing experiences of our audiences. This new technology is a game changer and will surely get the best ROI for our key sponsors. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. How do you think sports marketing has changed in India in the last few years? Any interesting trends that you are expecting to see as we move forward?" text="Q. How do you think sports marketing has changed in India in the last few years? Any interesting trends that you are expecting to see as we move forward?">Q. How do you think sports marketing has changed in India in the last few years? Any interesting trends that you are expecting to see as we move forward?</cmsannotation> While Indian Cricket will dominate viewership and revenues, Sony Sports has been consistently making efforts to massify and popularize other sports. Sony Sports is a global multi-sporting arena and sports marketing here, is not only talks to the purists but also focuses on attracting fence-sitters and newer audiences to join the Sony Sports community. This has paid off and every year our viewership for sports like WWE, UFC, football properties like UEFA Champions League and non-India cricket is steadily growing. Even the recently concluded UEFA EURO 2020 on our sports channels has seen massive growth compared to the last edition in 2016 by almost 70% Sports as an entertainment quotient is only going to grow.

Sony Sports has embarked on a mission to popularize the athletes participating in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and to make them household names: Rajesh Kaul of SPN

<keyword id="6702825" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rio-Olympics-2016">Rio Olympics 2016</keyword> is underway and yes India has not opened its medal tally as yet, but fret not, because that could be changing soon. 
 
Some of our sportspersons lost the chance to get the medal by a whisker as shooter Abhinav Bindra, rower Dattu Bhokanal and judoka Avtar Singh finished fourth, missing the third spot by a point or two. 
 
Indian weight-lifter Sathish Sivalingam was also out of the medal bracket and India’s hope for medals from Jitu Rai, Gagan Narang and Heena Sidhu also ended. 
 
Indian swimmers Sajan Prakash, Shivani Kataria were also knocked out of the competition and even archer laxmirani Majhi crashed out of women’s individual archery event. 
 But, there is still hope for India, which has sent its largest contingent ever, as boxers <keyword id="23353" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="manoj-kumar">Manoj Kumar</keyword>, Vikas Krishnan and gymnast Dipa Karmakar are still in the foray. 
 Our badminton stars Jwala Gutta, <keyword id="30618" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Saina-Nehwal">Saina Nehwal</keyword> and wrestlers <keyword id="157783" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yogeshwar-Dutt">Yogeshwar Dutt</keyword> and Narsingh Yadav are still to compete and there are bright chances for India to win a medal there. 
 
The biggest thing is to compete at Olympics as with given infrastructure in India, achieving this level of feat in sporting era in itself is commendable and we all should be proud of our sportpersons who are taking the pressure, sweating it out and doing everything they can for India. 
 
Here are the hopefuls that will open the scorecard for India on medal tally. Fingers crossed! 
 
(Image credits: Indiatimes/Reuters)

India still stands many chances to win medals at Rio Olympics 2016. These are the hopefuls

Due to the advent of technology and the widespread use of the internet, kids are not playing outdoors anymore, realized former cricketer Nitesh Kulkarni. 
 Adamant to provide the younger generation with some much needed inspiration towards <keyword id="6356028" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sports">sports</keyword>, Kulkarni, also the founder of International Institute of Sports Management decided to make a video, called Sports Heroes. 
 
He got cricketing legends <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=sachin+tendulkar">Sachin Tendulkar</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=sunil+gavaskar">Sunil Gavaskar</a>, tennis players <keyword id="6394569" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mahesh-Bhupathi">Mahesh Bhupathi</keyword> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=sania+mirza">Sania Mirza</a>, <keyword id="64" type="SPORT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Football">football</keyword> player <keyword id="29441" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bhaichung-Bhutia">Bhaichung Bhutia</keyword>, shooter Gagan Narang, hockey legend Dhanraj Pillay and wrestler Sushil Kumar to come together and sing the <keyword id="100239" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="National-Anthem">national anthem</keyword>, in occasion of India’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=republic+day">Republic Day</a>. 
 Plus, there’s no better way to inspire kids to take up sports than by having <keyword id="6354267" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sachin-Tendulkar">Sachin Tendulkar</keyword> tell them the importance of sports. 
 
Tendulkar at the launch of the event was also quoted saying that he holds singing the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=national+anthem">national anthem</a> at the Wankhede Stadium before the 2011 World Cup final as the proudest feeling in his life. 
 "When you sing the '<keyword id="82562" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jana-Gana-Mana">Jana Gana Mana</keyword>', your head is always held high, but when you sing it (standing) in the centre of the ground, then...seena chauda ho jata hai (chest swells with pride)," Tendulkar also added. 
 
The video that was launched yesterday has already become popular with the youth and is being widely shared on social networking sites. 
Here’s hoping the video reaches everyone it intends to and is the reason kids head outdoors today! 
 
Watch the video here:

Watch: When Sachin Tendulkar, Mahesh Bhupathi and
Sania Mirza came together for this epic Republic Day video!

World No.1 badminton player <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Saina+Nehwal+">Saina Nehwal</a> is presently on cloud nine! There are two reasons for that, one she regained the top ranking and second the ace shuttler signed a new deal with <keyword id="75489" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="IOS">IOS</keyword> Sports &amp; Entertainment that promised her Rs 25 crore in the next two years. 
 
IOS also manages sportspersons such as boxers <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Mary+Kom+">Mary Kom</a> and <keyword id="30474" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vijender-Singh">Vijender Singh</keyword>, wrestlers <keyword id="10633" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sushil-Kumar">Sushil Kumar</keyword> and Yogeshwar Dutt, shooters Gagan Narang and <keyword id="448306" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Heena-Sidhu">Heena Sidhu</keyword> and archer <keyword id="86231" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Deepika-Kumari">Deepika Kumari</keyword>, reported the Economic Times. 
 Nehwal endorses brands such as <keyword id="380994" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Herbalife">Herbalife</keyword>, Star Sports, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Godrej">Godrej</a>, No Marks, Emami, Sahara, Indian Overseas Bank, Iodex and Commune Builder. She currently earns between Rs 5 crore and Rs 7 crore per year from around 10 endorsement deals, some of which are for digital ads. 
 
Neerav Tomar, managing director and chief executive of IOS Sports, said his firm has been working with Nehwal for the past few years but only on one-off deals. "Now we have signed up to work exclusively with her. She is the world No. 1 now and she needs a bit of management and backing now," Tomar said. 
 On Thursday, she moved to rank No. 1 in the women's singles category of the <keyword id="66015" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Badminton-World-Federation">Badminton World Federation</keyword> rankings, overtaking Carolina Marin despite losing to the Spaniard in the World Championship final last week. 
 The 25-year-old is now one of the highest paid woman athletes in India. Boxer <keyword id="47387" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mary-Kom">Mary Kom</keyword> gets between Rs 4 crore and Rs 6 crore per year from endorsements and appearances. 
 So far, Saina was managing her endorsement deals herself. IOS Sports had recently signed a three-year, Rs 35-crore contract with <keyword id="14587" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Suresh-Raina">Suresh Raina</keyword>, ending the cricketer's association with Rhiti Sports Management owned by a friend of India ODI captain <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=MS+Dhoni">MS Dhoni</a>. 
 
With her at the top of the rankings again, Nehwal's brand value is likely to improve and so will her ability to charge higher. 
 
Tomar said the deal with her to get Rs 25 crore in two years would depend on her performance at the 2015 Rio <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Olympics">Olympics</a> as well as her ability to maintain her No. 1 ranking for as long as possible in this two year period. "We want to grow both her portfolio and pricing," he said. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Saina Nehwal is acing the ad game too. She just signed a Rs 25cr deal!

In another major development, Indian cricketer<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=+Suresh+Raina"> Suresh Raina</a> left Rhiti Sports and has joined <keyword id="2888320" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IOS-Sports">IOS sports</keyword> and entertainment. As reported by Economic Times, Raina, for endorsement deals, has signed the pact for three years. 
 <keyword id="143913" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arun-Pandey">Arun Pandey</keyword>, cricketer-turned-businessman who runs Rhiti Sports and entertainment manages endorsements for Indian cricketers including MSD, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ravindra+Jadeja">Ravindra Jadeja</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Mohit+Sharma">Mohit Sharma</a> and <keyword id="935097" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bhuvaneshwar-Kumar">Bhuvaneshwar Kumar</keyword> and also Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice. 
 
As per the cricketer, he made the shift because he wanted to focus on cricket and commercials simultaneously. "I won't be the No. 2 player in this new company," Raina told ET. 
 Speaking on signing this deal with IOS, <keyword id="14587" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Suresh-Raina">Suresh Raina</keyword> said “I was in touch with Neerav from past few months and we had several rounds of dialogs. I have been observing his company doing very interesting work for Olympic Sportspersons. I believe IOS had all the requisite credentials I needed, importantly they have a passionate and dedicated team who understands the space and comfort that a sportsperson needs”. 
 
Raina, currently has only one endorsement- <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Adidas">Adidas</a>- in hand for three years. More deals with brands like <keyword id="44672" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pepsi">Pepsi</keyword>, Boost and UP-based real estate Company are underway. 
 
Neerav Tomar, managing director and chief executive of IOS Sports said that Raina had been under-marketed so far. Commenting on this deal, Tomar said “I am really excited about signing the deal with country’s premier cricketer Suresh Raina. We were in touch with each other for a longtime and finally we have signed the deal. I am sure we will have a great partnership working together. Raina has been very consistent in all formats of the game and has the flexibility to adapt and play as the situation demands. Importantly from a sponsorship point of view Raina has all the credentials, is articulate, has the ability and is not over exposed”. 
 IOS sports and entertainment, so far, has managed only non-cricket sports persons which counts Marry Kom, Vijender Singh, wrestler <keyword id="10633" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sushil-Kumar">Sushil Kumar</keyword> and <keyword id="157783" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yogeshwar-Dutt">Yogeshwar Dutt</keyword>, shooters Gagan Narang and Heena Sindhu and archer <keyword id="86231" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Deepika-Kumari">Deepika Kumari</keyword>. Raina will be the first cricketer client of the management firm. 
 
"Raina's brand imagery has to be enhanced. He has been a little shy of media all these years so a bit of image management will be required," Tomar further added. 
 
The firm is eying an amount of 35 crore for Indian star cricketer in the next three years, the duration for which Raina has signed the pact. 
The business, as per the reports, would come from a mix of endorsements, licensing, merchandising and also setting up academies. 
"A lot of this target will be based on his on-field performance and his getting leadership positions in the future, including in the IPL," Tomar said. 
 
The 28-year-old left-handed all rounder has made 374 runs in 17 IPL matches in the 2015 season with five centuries in 218 one-day internationals and plays lower down the order, giving strength to the Indian batting lineup. 
 
Image: IOS India

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