Stars Out Of The Orbit

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. ‘‘It is true that most sponsorship deals are TV-driven’’, says Sanjay Jha, co-founder of sports management firm Nine Yards. ‘‘Sponsors are pleased with the publicity that they get. As a sport, cricket has reached its peak in terms of its marketability, thanks to the performance of the team in recent times.’’

‘‘Endorsements and sponsorships have a lot to with visibility and TRP rating’’, agrees Anirban Blah, of Globosport, the sports marketing company set up by the Bhupathis. ‘‘But not entirely. Hockey gets decent TRP ratings but it’s not as if our hockey stars are endorsing lots of products. On a scale of 1 to 10 on endorsements and sponsorships, I would put cricket at 10, and all other sports at 3 and below.”

Consequently, advertisements jump the cricket brandwagon expecting it go up. Ad filmmaker Prasoon Pandey puts things into perspective. ‘‘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.

Jha feels that this honeymoon with cricket is likely to go on till the next World Cup in 2007 before it changes for the better or worse. ‘‘Unfortunately, most brands and sponsors haven’t woken up to the fact that consumer loyalty is higher for shorter games, as it is in the US for basketball and ice hockey.’’

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.’’

At any other time, Khaneja agrees, finding a sponsor would have been a lotmore difficult. ‘‘It is true that I had to work a little harder on Bindra’s case as opposed to, say, someone like Sehwag, but the fact that the Olympics were looming clinched the deal.’’

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.

Jha agrees with the need for such talent to align themselves with professional firms instead of going out and approaching themselves. ‘‘Evaluate the performance of the team you’ve signed up with once you do sign up’’, Jha. Khaneja believes that potential sponsors for such talent would be the sport-loving, golf-playing CEO who has an interest in sport.

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.’’

Meanwhile, our talented youngsters meanwhile are sticking to what they can do best. Play on. ‘‘I’m only trying to focus on the game now’’, says Advani, ahead of the upcoming World Under-21 Snooker Championship. ‘‘I’ve given myself two years to turn professional. I’m hoping things work out by then.’’

Ghosal’s busy working up a sweat, practising to beat his Pakistani opponents in Islamabad. And Harikrishna is winding down from the world championship.

Business as usual.