NEW DELHI: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Tuesday decided to drop Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning as its official kit sponsor for the Olympics, announcing that Indian athletes will wear unbranded apparel during the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Last week, the IOA had unveiled the Olympic kit designed by Li Ning for the Tokyo Games, which led to a furore on social media from “nationalist quarters”. In the wake of the social media outrage, the union Sports Ministry advised the IOA to drop the Chinese sportswear brand as its kit partner for the Games, scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8.
“We are aware of the emotions of our fans and we in IOA have decided that we will withdraw from our existing contract with an apparel sponsor,” IOA president Narinder Batra and secretary general Rajeev Mehta said in a joint statement. “Our athletes, coaches and support staff will wear unbranded apparel.”
The statement further reads: “We are thankful for guidance by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in making this decision.
“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.”
PTI, quoting sources, reports that IOA is “talking to a couple of companies” to ensure that the athletes don’t go unbranded at the Olympics.
“We are in discussions with a couple of brands. Let’s see how things pan out,” said official told the newswire.
The official ceremonial kits are sponsored by Raymonds.
