Tokyo Olympics (Photo Credits: Reuters)
Indian athletes at Tokyo Olympics will likely be in unbranded attire after the nation dropped Chinese sportswear Li Ning as its official package sponsor.
- AFP New Delhi
- Last Updated:June 09, 2021, 01:16 IST
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India on Tuesday dropped Chinese sportswear Li Ning as its official package sponsor for the upcoming Olympics with the nation’s athletes set to put on unbranded attire in Tokyo. The resolution comes after the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) copped criticism for unveiling Indian jerseys with Chinese branding final week amid strained relations between the 2 neighbours. “We are conscious of the feelings of our followers and we in a (sic) IOA have determined that we are going to withdraw from our present contract with an attire sponsor,” IOA president Narinder Batra and secretary Rajeev Mehta said in a statement. “Our athletes, coaches and support staff, will wear unbranded apparel.”
A lethal border conflict between the 2 international locations final 12 months sparked calls in India for boycott of Chinese merchandise and firms.
Cricket’s Indian Premier League suspended their multi-million greenback cope with Chinese cellphone maker VIVO for one season in 2020 solely to get them again on board this 12 months.
But the IOA stated it doesn’t need any outdoors strain to impact the coaching of their athletes.
“We are grateful for steerage by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in making this resolution,” Batra and Mehta said.
“We would like our athletes to be able to train and compete without having to answer questions about the apparel brand. As it is, they have all been challenged by the pandemic over the past year and a quarter and we want them to be not distracted.”
The Olympics, which have been pushed again a 12 months as a result of coronavirus pandemic, are scheduled to be held between July 23 and August 8.
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