Tokyo Olympics: After Dropping Li Ning, IOA In Search For New Apparel Sponsor By Month-End

After parting ways with Chinese sportswear company Li Ning to "honour public sentiment", the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Wednesday said it is hoping to find a new kit sponsor for the country's Olympic-bound contingent by the end of this month. The IOA on Tuesday dropped Li Ning as its official kit sponsor for the Olympics and stated that the country's athletes will wear unbranded apparel during the Tokyo Games, scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8. But on Wednesday, IOA president Narinder Batra said search is on for a new sponsor within the limited available time.

"The process (of finding a new sponsor) is in progress but time in our hand is very limited. We don't want to put pressure on anyone and have them on board under duress. It has to be on mutual agreement," Batra told PTI.

"By month end, we will have to take a call on whether to go unbranded. The apparels are ready and need to hand them over to our athletes as soon as possible."

The IOA had unveiled the Olympic kit designed by Li Ning last week in the presence of sports minister Kiren Rijiju, which led to widespread criticism as Chinese companies had faced opposition after last year's military face-off between the two countries in eastern Ladakh.

It is learnt that the Sports Ministry then advised the Olympic body to snap ties with the company. The IOA chief said that the decision to drop Li Ning was taken in public interest.

"I am not going to take the name of any company or anyone, but the decision was taken only after we started to receive criticism from all quarters, including the media following the announcement. We took this decision keeping in mind public sentiment," Batra said.

Batra said for the IOA and Sports Ministry, the priority is preparation of the country's Olympic-bound athletes and logistics regarding their travel to Tokyo for the quadrennial Games.

While Li Ning was the official apparel partner, the official ceremonial kits are being sponsored by Raymonds.

The IOA chief also dismissed reports that India, along with nine other countries, could be barred from participating in the Tokyo Olympics by the organisers because of a surge in COVID-19 cases in those nations.

"These are all media speculations. We at IOA haven't heard anything from either the IOC (International Olympic Committee) or the organisers in this regard," Batra said.

"But still we have asked the IOC and Tokyo Games organisers to give us a clear picture. India is still better-placed than most other nations in terms of COVID cases and mortality rate."

A Malaysian media report claimed that the Japanese government had asked the Games organising committee to consider denying entry to 10 countries, including India, due to the surge in COVID cases recently.

The report further stated that other countries on the possible "no entry list" are Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom.

However, the Games organisers have also rejected the speculation.