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Stars Out Of The Orbit

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->To put it another way: What do our non-cricket heroes have to do to get attention, public mindspace and, most important, money by way of sponsorships/endorsements?

Take a look at these three teenagers. Pankaj Advani (18) is a world snooker champion, Sourav Ghosal (17) just became the the first Indian to be top seed at the World Junior Squash to be held in Islamabad next month and Pendalya Harikrishna is already a Grandmaster at 18. Three extremely talented individuals who are without endorsements.

After his world title in China, Advani had hoped that his dreams of playing on the professional circuit could be fuelled by sponsors ready to back him.

Ghosal, a British Junior Open champion, who reached the finals of the first Professional Squash Association (PSA) tournament that he played, survives on the funds that his father and Squash Racket Federation of India (SRFI) can put together from approaching sponsors. Harikrishna was left high and dry when Wipro opted out of his sponsorship deal.

All this, when contemporary Parthiv Patel endorses everything from biscuits to cycles on television. Without taking anything from the wicketkeeper, the fact remains that when it comes to endorsements and sponsorships, it’s tunnel vision with only cricket at the end of it.

The common perception is that this is TV-driven, that sponsors shell out the money only when they see the TRPs.

‘‘Endorsements go to celebrities, and cricketers in our country have become celebrities. It’s got a lot to with the way cricket has been managed in the country’’, says Pandey. ‘‘Remember, advertisements don’t make celebrities, they only ride on them. Today, Bollywood and cricketers have thrown a lot of models out of business’’, he laughs.

Latika Khaneja, whose shrewd management of Virender Sehwag is a famous success story, has also signed on shooting ace Abhinav Bindra. ‘‘It’s a one-off case, in the light of the Olympics’’, she says ‘‘Corporates do talk of looking at sportspersons outside cricket, but it doesn’t really work when you get down to it.’’ So what worked for somebody like Bindra? ‘‘Bindra’s deals with Sahara and Samsung need to be seen in light of the Olympics. The sponsors saw him as a medal prospect.’’

Thinking out of the box can help. Globosport is currently working out a deal in which Dhanraj Pillay will be associated with music label HMV. ‘‘The idea is to work with sportsmen who can lead their image to a brand, something that people can identify themselves with’’, says Blah. ‘‘It’s about Hindi film music, so the masses can easily identify with the brand and Pillay.’’

So what do you do with talent like Advani, Ghosal and Harikrishna. Globosport is keen on signing on Advani. Blah says the idea is to bring together a bunch of talented youngsters and then approach big industrial houses. The Champions Trust, which will kick off with the Champions Run, a charity run to raise awareness and money for athletes, is one such initiative from Globosport.

Which leaves one group out in the cold: the national sports federations. ‘‘Sadly, most federations are a little slow when it comes to getting things going’’, says Jha. ‘‘What you really need is somebody to lead from the top, like Sunil Dutt, who can ensure that the federations know that they are accountable.’’ <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->