Nivia Sports

Nivia Sports is an Indian sports equipment manufacturing company based in Jalandhar, Punjab, India, under the banner of FreeWill Sports Pvt Ltd.[5] The firm mainly produces balls,[6] but also provides other equipment such as team uniforms, footwear and accessories for football, basketball, and volleyball.

Nivia sports[1]
TypePrivate
IndustrySports equipment, textile
Founded1934 (1934)
FounderNihal Chand Kharbanda
HeadquartersJalandhar, Punjab,
India
Area served
Asia
Key people
Vijay Kharabanda
(chairman & managing director, 1940–2017)
Rajesh Kharabanda
(managing director)[2]
ProductsBalls (football, basketball, volleyball), football boots, sportswear, accessories
Number of employees
2,000 [3]
ParentFreeWill Sports[4]

The name "Nivia" was derived from the combination of the initials of the name of Nihal Chand Kharbanda, founder of Nivia Sports, and Vijay Kharbanda: "NI" from "Nihal" and "VI" from "Vijay".[7]

History

FreeWill Sports Pvt, Ltd. was incorporated in 1934 in Sialkot by Nihal Chand Kharbanda. In 1962, Vijay Kharbanda joined his father in business and set up Nivia Sports. The 1947 partition of the country saw the company shift its base from Sialkot to Mumbai, and from Mumbai to Meerut, finally settling in Jalandhar. In 1962, Vijay Kharbanda joined as the Chief Managing Director (CMD) of the company with his father and started manufacturing a full range of leather hand stitched balls[8] for soccer, volleyball, handball, and basketball under Nivia Sports.

Since 1991, Rajesh Kharbanda has been the Managing Director and CEO of Nivia Sports. As a board member of the World Federation of Sporting Goods Industry, he initiated, introduced and engaged Nivia Sports with national and international bodies like FIFA, Basketball Federation of India, All India Football Federation, Volleyball Federation of India, and Handball Federation of India. He is an associate member and office bearer at various trade and business associations including the Sports Goods Foundation of India, and the Sports Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association.[9]

On 18 June 2017, Vijay Kharbanda died. He was 77 years old.[10]

Products

Nivia Sports produces sports equipment, apparel, athletic shoes, and accessories.

Football
Nivia Sports hand-stitched football from 1960s
Nivia Antrix (left), and Nivia Ashtang models

Nivia Sports was the first Indian sports equipment manufacturer to produce hand stitched balls, including footballs. In the 1950s, under Freewill Sports Pvt Ltd, Nivia Sports started manufacturing hand stitched leather footballs, basketballs, and volleyballs. The company exported its balls to international markets, with its first consignment of 30 balls shipped to Indonesia. In the 1960s the Nivia football received the approval of National Institute of Sports, Patiala, Punjab, India. Its football became the official ball for the National Football Championship and for the All India Football Federation (AIFF).[11] In the 1980s, Nivia was selected as the official ball for the International Football Tournament Jawaharlal Nehru Gold Cup and South Asian Federation (SAF) Games.[11]

Nivia Sports has also produced and sponsored other accessories related to football, such as boots, uniforms, goalkeeper gloves, goal nets, training gear, shin guards, ball pump.[6]

Basketball
Nivia basketball (above), and G20-20 volleyball

Nivia makes handmade balls. The basketball initially goes to a machine where a rubber blob squeezed to flatten it to a thinner size and giving it a round shape. Then other stitching, painting works are done by hands. CNNMoney showed the making of basketballs in Nivia's factory at Jalandhar (Punjab), India.[12]

Volleyball

In 1963, the Nivia volleyball was selected to be used as the official ball in the Pre-Olympic Volleyball Championship organised in New Delhi, India.[11]

Athletic shoes

During the 1980s, Nivia Sports started manufacturing sports footwear in India.[11] Through the years, the company added footwear for use in other games such as cricket, football, basketball, volleyball, badminton, tennis, kabaddi, wrestling, and track & field. They also produced shoelaces and gel insoles.[13]

Football boots
Nivia Oslar Blade, football boot

The series of shoes includes identical properties as per their categories. It involves, Aviator, Brasil, Crane, Dominator, Ditmar, Destroyer, England, Encounter, Pro Encounter, Germany, Invader, Oslar, Oslar blade, Premier, Premier Carbonite, Premier Cleats, Spain,  Tough, and Ultra.[14]

Accessories

Nivia Sports produces sports accessories such as kits or bags, tracksuits, shorts, lowers, shocks, and windcheaters for use in cricket, football, basketball, and volleyball. The company has contributed sports equipment, footwear and accessories including badminton rackets and shuttlecocks, strings, skateboards, skating wheels, squash rackets, and swimming accessories like earplugs, fins, masks, and aqua boards.[15]

References
  1. "Nivia Sports, FreeWill Sports Pvt Ltd".
  2. "Key People of Nivia Sports".
  3. "Nivia Sports No of Employees". Nivia Sports.
  4. "About Nivia Sports".
  5. "About Nivia Sports".
  6. Bend it like Ronaldo, The Tribune of India, 19 June 2010
  7. Bhardwaj, Aakanksha N (20 June 2017). "Man who blazed a trail, gave sports industry a firm foothold". The Tribune. India. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  8. "Hand Stitched Nivia Balls".
  9. "Rajesh Kharbanda Nivia Sports".
  10. Aakanksha N Bhardwaj (19 June 2017). "Man who blazed a trail, gave sports industry a firm foothold". Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  11. History on Nivia website, 13 Aug 2020
  12. "In the making of Nivia's Basketball".
  13. "Footwear for Games".
  14. "Football Shoes".
  15. "Nivia Accessories".
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