Saina Nehwal severs ties with Rhiti sports ending Rs 40 crore deal

Saina Nehwal

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has signed a new deal with KWAN Entertainment and Marketing Solutions a few weeks back, severing her ties with Rhiti Sports, just a year after signing a three-year Rs 40 crore deal. Apparently, things didn’t work out as planned between the sports company and the shuttler and that has opened an exit door for the player.

The new deal was signed after securing a NOC from Rhiti. As per the new deal, KWAN will manage her in the next one year and Rhiti will also chip in wherever possible. The Olympic bronze medalist has been unhappy with the way the firm had managed her portfolio, after signing for them in October 2012. After a series of deliberations between the two parties, both decided to end their relationship on friendly terms.

Only after this, KWAN, headed by Anirban Das Blah entered the fray to manage the 23-year old. Blah, incidentally was also the head of Globosport, owner by Mahesh Bhupathi, which had managed Saina in her initial years. Sources claim that Saina was happy with the compensation though the details of the deal have not been made available.

“Things did not work well for her with Rhiti and so she decided to come out. Hopefully, she will be happy with the new company,” a source said.

Meanwhile, Yonex, leading manufacturer of sporting equipment, has offered a bounty for Saina. Acknowledging her contribution to the growth of its market in India and across the world, the Japanese company have decided to give a share of 4% of the profits on the entire range of their worldwide ‘Saina products’ to the player.