KUALA LUMPUR: At a sponsorship presentation on Thursday, Bata Malaysia presented the new Power (Tiger Design) shoes to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) ahead of the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games (KL2017) next month.
Bata Malaysia's country manager Ajay Ramachandran presented the shoes to OCM president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar at a ceremony which was witnessed by OCM deputy president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria, OCM secretary-general Datuk Low Beng Choo and Bata corporate business development manager Datuk James Selvaraj.
National athletes from rhythmic gymnastics, water polo and hockey were also present at Wisma OCM to witness the event.
Tunku Imran, who is the Sea Games Federation (SEAGF) chairman, said: "Bata has been a brand long associated with us Malaysians. In fact, many don't know that it is not a Malaysian brand.
"Our partnership (OCM and Bata) dates back 20 years, and our athletes have been using their shoes at every multisport event since. We really look forward to continuing this for many more years to come."
The value of the shoes, all 1,200 pairs in total for both athletes and officials, is estimated at RM300,000.
"A lot of Research and Development (R&D) went into coming up with the right shoe for the athletes, and we are proud to showcase our shoes today. These shoes are exclusive only for our national athletes.
"We presented six different designs to the Sports Ministry, and one of them was selected by Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
"We are honoured to have this association and hope that all national athletes will be happy and proud to wear these Power shoes during the Games," added Ajay, who only joined Bata Malaysia a month ago.