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India's double Olympic medalist shuttler PV Sindhu will sign a four-year deal with a leading sports equipment brand for four years, worth Rs 4 crore per year, according to sources. The sources also mentioned that Sindhu is currently in talks with two leading global brands of technical equipment, which have offered her Rs 4 crore per year for four years. Her existing endorsement deal with Li-Ning, as an ambassador, has come to an end. PV Sindhu has had a mixed run in recent competitions on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour circuit.
While she did break her title drought of over two years in the Syed Modi India International in December last year by capturing the women's title by beating China's Wu Luo Yu, she started the new year with a quarterfinal finish in the India Open in Lucknow and a disappointing first-round exit in the Indonesia Masters held this month, losing to Vietnam's Nguyen Thuy Linh.
Sindhu, along with Paris Olympics semi-finalist Lakshya Sen, will lead a 14-member strong Indian team at the upcoming Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships, to be held in Qingdao, China, from February 11-16, 2025.
India won the bronze medal in the last edition of the championships, held in Dubai in 2023, and will aim to improve on that performance this time.
The national selectors have taken into account the world rankings and current form of the players while selecting the squad, which will include HS Prannoy and Malvika Bansod as the second men's and women's singles players, respectively.
India also boasts a strong doubles lineup, with the former world No. 1 combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty leading the men's doubles charge. The women's doubles duties will be shared by Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly or Olympians Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto.
Tanisha will also compete in mixed doubles alongside Dhruv Kapila, with Sathish Kumar K and Adya Variyath forming the second mixed doubles combination in the squad.
India Squad for Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships:
Men: Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Dhruv Kapila, MR Arjun, Sathish Kumar K
Women: PV Sindhu, Malvika Bansod, Gayatri Gopichand, Treesa Jolly, Ashwini Ponnappa, Tanisha Crasto, Adya Variyath.