Tendulkar, Dhoni and Kohli face competition, Saina Nehwal becomes top female sports endorser

Mumbai: Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal has just signed a two-year endorsement deal pegged at Rs 1.5 crore outpacing tennis star Sania Mirza and boxer MC Mary Kom.

25-year-old Saina will now be seen endorsing products for Kellogg after Iodex, Yonex, Bajaj Nomarks, according to a report in ‘The Economic Times’. A spokesperson of Kellogg India confirmed the deal with Nehwal but did not disclose any further details. "Kellogg is looking for a repositioning exercise with Saina. The advertising is likely to break next month," a source was quoted as saying in the report.

World Number 2 in women's singles, Saina has also endorsed Indian Overseas Bank and the Sahara group. National director of sports and live events at GroupM ESP, Vinit Karnik said Saina is the highest paid woman sportsperson in India.

"Sania Mirza's endorsement fee used to be the highest till about five years back. But Saina has been far more visible on the circuit, which is what brands look for," he told the financial daily.

Few managers believe that gap between earnings of male and female sportstars still remains wide.

Indian cricket team’s ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni charges over Rs 10 crore for brand endorsement while newly appointed Test skipper Virat Kohli's fee is Rs 5-6 crore.