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Chinese companies in India are battling a heavy backlash after the recent killing of 20 Indian soldiers by Chinese forces in a Himalayan border dispute.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will review its sponsorship deal with sports brand Li Ning, following a public backlash against Chinese companies, although Vivo will remain as title sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The recent wave of anti-China sentiment has led the IOA to reconsider its collaboration with Chinese company Li Ning, its apparel partner.
“We have a tie-up with them until the Tokyo Olympics,” IOA secretary-general Rajeev Mehta told Reuters.
“We’ll discuss the matter in our annual general meeting. Our approach will always be country-first.”
There have also been demands on social media for major Chinese mobile brand Vivo to be dropped as the title sponsor of the IPL, the world’s richest T20 cricket tournament.
The treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Arun Singh Dhumal, questioned whether dropping Vivo, which bagged the 2018-22 IPL title rights in a mammoth deal worth over US$$287m, would serve any purpose.
Speaking to local media, Dhumal mused, “We understand the sentiments in the country, and there could be a backlash over title sponsorship of the IPL but there are still things that we need to understand.”
“BCCI has created an infrastructure of thousand of crores in the country. If a Chinese company is earning money from the Indian consumer and paying it to the BCCI, which in turn is giving a 40 per cent tax to the government, then I believe we are helping the Indian cause,” Dhumal emphasised.
“If there is a directive from the government that no Chinese product or services will be allowed in the country, BCCI will be happy to adhere to it. But in the absence of any such order and if that money is being used in India, and for the betterment of Indian cricket, then I don’t see any issue with it.”