After making India proud by winning two Olympic bronze medals at the Paris Olympics 2024, Manu Bhakar has not only become the face of India's shooting contingent; she is also now the new favourite for firms for advertisements.
Bhakar has two medals in her account—a bronze in the 10m air pistol individual and another in the mixed team events. She is also expected to win a third medal in the 25m air pistol event.
According to details, Bhakar has been approached by 40-odd brands for endorsements worth crores.
Earlier, Bhakar used to charge a fee of ₹20-25 lakh for each endorsement, but now her charges have reportedly gone up 6-7 times, and she has already closed one deal in the range of ₹1.5 crore.
"We have got about 40-odd inquiries in just the last 2-3 days. We are focusing right now on the long-term association deals, and we have closed a couple of endorsements," Times of India quoted IOS Sports & Entertainment's CEO Neerav Tomar as saying, that manages Manu.
"Her brand value, of course, has jumped five to six folds. So anything we were doing before was in the vicinity of ₹20-25 lakhs, now it has gone to the region of about ₹1.5 crore for one deal of endorsements. This is a one-year kind of engagement for a brand category with exclusivity," he added.
Among other details, Tomar said that they are focusing on the long-term deals.
"At the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, we get a lot of medals in shooting. But then it just fizzles out. In the Olympics, you stand out, and with two medals you just completely outshine," he added.
Bhakar is set to become a national sporting brand just like Neeraj Chopra, who clinched a gold medal in the last Olympic Games.
