Domestic sports goods makers miss CWG bus

The high optimism that the domestic sports goods industry had pinned on the forthcoming Commonwealth Games (CWG), to boost its top lines, seems to have vanished.

The industry had hoped the Games would serve as a perfect branding platform, create huge demand for sports goods and attract international buyers.

However, the negative publicity that CWG had garnered over the weeks, nationally and internationally, and the recent spate of floods in the region had ruined the chances for the domestic industry of profiting from the mega event, industry players said.

CWG is scheduled from October 3 to 14 in New Delhi. “The industry will have zero benefit from the Games,” Meerut-based All India Sports Goods Manufacturers Federation president Punit Mohan Sharma told Business Standard.

The demand for holding a sports goods exhibition at Pragati Maidan to coincide with CWG had also been reportedly turned down. The Federation lamented it was not included in any committee nor consulted for the procurement of sports gears for CWG.

Meerut is a leading sports goods hub in India with over 1,500 big and small units manufacturing cricket and athletics gear, table tennis tables, health and gymnasium equipment, football etc. Over 50 per cent of the production is meant for exports to the UK, Australia, Germany, France, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the Arabian countries.

“The Queen’s Baton was not brought to Meerut, which could have otherwise created the much needed buzz for the sector,” he said.

The Meerut sports industry’s annual turnover is estimated at over Rs 600 crore, including exports worth Rs 400 crore. It provides direct and indirect employment to about 200,000 people. Another sports goods centre is Jalandhar.

Federation general secretary Sunil Sharma claimed most of the sports gears and equipment for CWG had been imported and the domestic industry had been ignored.