Tokyo Olympics: IOA drops Chinese brand, Indian athletes to wear unbranded apparel

New Delhi, June 09: After getting criticized for choosing Chinese Sponsors Li Ning as its official kit sponsor for the Olympics, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) withdrawn the existing contract with an apparel sponsor Li Ning and announced that the Indian athletes will wear unbranded apparel during the Tokyo Games scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8.

 

IOA issued the statement regarding this. In the statement, IOA President Dr. Narinder Batra and Secretary General Rajeev Mehta said, "We are aware of the emotions of our fans and we in an IOA have decided that we will withdraw from our existing contract with an apparel sponsor. Our athletes, coaches, and support staff will wear unbranded apparel."

 

"We are thankful for guidance by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in making this decision and, 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 not be distracted," the statement said.

 

 

 

The IOA officials also said that they were aware of the dedicated efforts by the nation's elite athletes and their coaching and support staff and they are looking forward to a good performance by them at the Olympic Games."

We have had an excellent synergy in the ecosystem within IOA, National Sports Federations, Government, and other stakeholders coming together as one," Batra and Mehta said in their statement.

 

 

Last week, IOA and the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju had unveiled the Olympic kit for the Tokyo-bound contingent, which erupted major furor over the social media. After that Sports Ministry too had advised the IOA to do away with the Chinese sponsor respecting the sentiments of the people of the country.

 

 

There have been calls for a boycott of Chinese products since tension had increased at the LAC between the Indian army and Chinese troops last year.

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