The sportsperson’s life will be similar to a roller coaster. In fact, this is the best word which can fit the theme of roller coasters that thrill crowds who never get it how much effort it takes to manufacture a machine capable of withstanding those twists and turns every day in order to give out a perfect show.
These are like the twists and turns of everyday life but they are more common in sporting activities where athletes go through so much behind the scenes for them to taste success. Manu Bhaker, Shooter-India’s latest sports hero has almost a similar story. Her two Paris Olympic medals will change her life as she is about to sign up with twenty-two year olds to endorse their products; forty of them have been lured by now and they are willing to spend their money doing it.
But before Paris, there was Tokyo.
Manu’s Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago was different from that of any other athlete but many had christened her India shooting’s face since she burst onto the scene as an adolescent with titles at global junior events. In her case in Tokyo though, manu was not the subject; rather she focused too much on herself as she strove towards a career best performance whilst ignoring wholly credible advice from experienced people around her, even responded sarcastically sometimes.
However, Manu didn’t let stay long enough to sway her completely.
Manu knew all along when she got back home after that family holiday and there wasn’t any doubt about it either. There was everything on stake for her – A career? Redemption? Some point?
It’s been three years from today and two more days at her next Olympics in Paris – here we see Manu with bronze medals that could alter lives — thus becoming independent after 1947 alone regarding any other competitor at Olympics on Indian soil.
If she manages it again with her 25m pistol, Manu could be eyeing an unprecedented hat-trick. The 10m air pistol was shot by Manu, who won a bronze medal for India in that event. Later she added another bronze to her medals alongside Sarabjot Singh.
Soon after that IOS Sports & Entertainment – the company handling Manu, started receiving frantic phone calls from advertisers. Besides many others who put their logos next to Manu’s photos and rode on the joyous occasion with her via social media.
“There are about 150 to 200 brands which have done this” said Neerav Tomar, CEO & MD of IOS Sports & Entertainment when asked about this by Timesofindia.com as he headed towards Paris. “That is just totally unprofessional from corporate India. A number of them are leading brands.”
So far, around fifty legal notices were sent out by the agency and they are working on more such warnings for numerous other companies.
BRAND MANU BHAKER GROWS
On a positive note, there will be both long-term and short-team deals available for contracts worth crores for the period of one year, which is 6-7 times what the firm charged Manu’s endorsement before going to Paris at Rs 20 lakh.
Till now, she was representing only one brand.
“We had about 40 odd enquires in last couple of days alone. At present we are concentrating more on tying up long term association deals and we have finalized a few endorsements,” Tomar said.
5-6 folds is how much her brand value has increased. Previously this was about Rs 20-25 lakhs or so, now it’s been a little over Rs 15 million for one endorsement deal. This is one-year kind of engagement for a brand category with exclusivity.
“There are also many queries of shorter term—they are digital-engagement queries. But we have long-term deals to focus on,” he added.
It is the niche and very technical event that is not very TV-friendly, hence Tomar opined that Olympics is one big chance for athletes from a sport like shooting to shine; therefore, there is lots of interest in small deals of three months, static posts and moment marketing to cash in on the benefits of Olympic success over the next couple of months or so.
“We get a lot medals in shooting at Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. But then it just fizzles out. In the Olympics you stand out, and two medals you just completely outshine,” he added.
Moral Responsibility Comes with Success
Apart from enjoying her hard-won historical gains in Paris, Manu will be an important person since as basketball legend Karim Abdul-Jabbar puts it – “Being a hero depends on what they do next” and not just what they have achieved.
Regarding sports superstars – those who earn even after their careers end and act as role models for subsequent generations, Jabbar gave us his thoughts through his esquire.com article back in 2013.
“I am not against endorsements because advertising makes financial sense by using familiar faces to draw attention to your product. What I am oppose to is the production of fake heroes among sportsmen by companies seeking quick results from using them as endorsers.” Because when children make heroes out of such people, it becomes difficult for them to separate between athletic achievements and private lives they think are worth emulating.
