National, January 13, 2025: Sports brand PUMA India has expanded its sporting portfolio by partnering with Indian badminton icon and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu in a multi-year collaboration. This marks PUMA’s official foray into badminton, making India a pioneer within the PUMA universe to access the racquet-sport. Through this association, PUMA looks to further strengthen its sports-first presence, elevating badminton’s profile in the country, and inspiring the next generation of athletes.
Badminton’s popularity in India is surging, with a fan base of 57 million, according to the Google-Deloitte Think Sports report from 2024. Of this, 27.8 million are Gen Z, reflecting the sport’s strong appeal among younger audiences. Badminton has also emerged as the second-most played sport in urban areas, after cricket, and has seen a remarkable 65% rise in active participation over the past four years. With this takeaway, PUMA and Sindhu have partnered to broaden the sport’s attractiveness, particularly among young athletes.
Sindhu’s achievements have played a crucial role in popularizing badminton as a competitive sport in India. As the first Indian to win five badminton world championship medals, she has also triumphed across the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and beyond. Honoured with prestigious accolades including the Khel Ratna, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Arjuna Award, Sindhu’s decade-long stellar performances have established her as a global icon. Recently featured in the 2024 Forbes World’s Highest-Paid Female Athletes, she also leads as the world’s most followed badminton player on Instagram, with a staggering fan-base of 4 million followers.
Commenting on the partnership, PV Sindhu said, “I’m excited to join the PUMA family, a brand that shares my belief in the power of sport to inspire. This partnership with PUMA India isn’t just about being part of something bigger—it is an opportunity to connect with those who value pushing boundaries and embracing challenges. Badminton has always been a platform for growth and self-discovery for me, and through this collaboration, I hope to encourage others, especially women, to take risks, believe in themselves, and strive for more—both on and off the court.”
Karthik Balagopalan, Managing Director of PUMA India, added, “PV Sindhu is a legend and a trailblazer, and we are proud & delighted to welcome her into our PUMA family. She is the most followed badminton athlete in the world. Her extraordinary legacy in Indian sports which includes a lot of historic firsts has not only placed India on the badminton map globally but has also inspired millions, pushed the boundaries, and paved the way for future generations of athletes. As we make our first-ever step into badminton, this association will further our goal to increase PUMA’s footprint in the rapidly growing sports landscape in the country, inspiring more youngsters to take up the racquet-sport.”
Ahead of the announcement, PUMA India launched a never-done-before activation wherein the sports brand made a serious move by changing its brand signage at several of its stores across the country for close to a week. The brand name ‘PUMA’ was changed to ‘PVMA’, as a massive gesture to celebrate the legendary Sindhu. This big move created ample buzz on the internet over the last few days.
As part of this partnership, PUMA will also launch a high-performance badminton range soon, featuring specialised footwear, apparel, and accessories. The upcoming collection is designed to redefine on-court performance while catering to the lifestyle aspirations of sports enthusiasts, drawing on the insight that community-driven activities—whether sports or otherwise—motivate people to show up looking their best.
PUMA’s association with Sindhu places her alongside an impressive roster of the brand’s elite athletes, featuring cricketing icons Harmanpreet Kaur, Mohammed Shami, Olympian Sarabjot Singh, Paralympian Avani Lekhara, boxing champ MC Mary Kom, to lifestyle icons like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ibrahim Ali Khan Pataudi and international legends such as Usain Bolt and Neymar Jr.
The partnership between PUMA and Sindhu will debut at the India Open 2025, providing the platform for a dynamic collaboration which will set the tone for the future of badminton in India.