Rugby and netball being played with made in India balls at Birmingham 2022

They secured the order to manufacture the match ball for two events in

2022, pipping the traditional suppliers: Pakistan and China. The match balls for the rugby event on Sunday and netball matches that would conclude this week were made in India, by Jalandhar-based sports goods company Savi International. As per available information, the company bagged an order to manufacture nearly 20,000 balls for the two events.

“The Indian sports manufacturing industry has a certain skill set which holds it in good stead and gives it an edge over its neighbouring competitors (Pakistan and China). We have been receiving the lion’s share of the order for global events to manufacture rugby balls,” Savi International director Mukul Verma told ET. The official balls used in the Rugby World Cup held in Japan in 2019 were also manufactured by Savi International.

ET spoke to sports manufacturers in Jalandhar to know about the advantage that India has in this business. “The manufacturing of a rugby ballis a very complex procedure. It involves a certain category of synthetic rubber to come up with high-quality rugby and net ball.

India has been the pioneer in manufacturing rugby balls for a few years,” said Aman Chopra of Shant Overseas. Adding to this, Verma of Savi International said: “Manufacturing a rugby ball is a cumbersome procedure. The quality of skilled labour we have in India is far superior than the ones available in other countries. The quality of rubber, chemicals used to manufacture rugby and net balls available in India keeps us ahead of our competitors.”