Is your Sports Equipment Genuine or Fake?

The sports equipment market has grown into something huge and is still growing; the brands are present in plenty. In fact, in the past decade, the number of brands has grown exponentially. Earlier, we used to have a few brands of cricketing equipment, and the same was the case with any other sports equipment.

On top of that, nowadays, pirated gears are abundant in the market. In addition to that, the current pirated sports goods are so top-notch, it is almost impossible to tell if that equipment is genuine or fake. Hence, it is getting complicated for people to find the gears they want.

Therefore, Sportsuncle has a detailed guide to help you spot whether your sports equipment is genuine or fake. In this piece, we will talk about a few brands and how you can use them to verify some equipment from those brands.

How to find out if your sporting equipment is real?

Fake products have become a significant problem for all sports enthusiasts. In addition, several myths are floating around about how to check the originality of an instrument. For instance, some people use web documentation to verify equipment, and sometimes these documents are 4-5 years old, which is not usually in line with company changes and innovations.

What's more, some people call their "so-called expert" friends to verify the equipment, which is not right either they are unaware or have updated full knowledge. So, what's the proper way, then?

Let's talk about that according to brands.

Yonex India Sports Goods

The first name on the list is a renowned sporting brand- Yonex- and most people must have heard it. This brand is even more popular among badminton enthusiasts, and it is no surprise considering Yonex provides the best badminton rackets and other equipment in the market. And to check if an instrument is genuinely Yonex or not, do the following things.

Generally, all Yonex products have a silver colour scratch code to verify whether the product is genuine or not. This code contains two parts on the upper side dealer code to whom the product is billed is mentioned, and below, you need to scratch the area to find the genuineness code.

To use that code, you must open the website, www.sunrisetnt.com and put in the code. Keep in mind that a single code can be used only once. Plus, make sure to add a www before the website's name. Otherwise, the site might not open in some browsers for verification.

Yonex had to introduce this scratching verification mechanism to stop the bubbles of myths floating around Mavis 350 shuttlecocks. Specifically, some experts used to say the shuttles with a triangle are genuine, while some used to say the square ones are real. However, we all know how difficult it is to stop this ever-going cycle of myths because most people have little knowledge. Hence, to fill this knowledge gap, people assume what they think is right because they have experienced it for many years.

Furthermore, another misconception was that the badminton rackets with the JP code were genuine, while the SP (South Pacific) one was fake. Of course, that's not true. Even though Yonex didn't release any official statement about the issue, we know that both articles are genuine and manufactured in Japan. And the codes are just a representation of the sales division. Sunrise Group is based in Singapore, and all imports in India are through them. Mostly, SP and MY (Malaysia) codes are mentioned on rackets imported in India through the official channel.

You might find people saying the SP variant's paint job is not good or those are cheap. However, the truth is all Yonex rackets are imported by the importer Sunrise India in India. Plus, the JP and SP cost is almost the same, and nothing is conclusive about the paint job issue.

yonex scan code

sunrisetnt 3 steps code verification

This Hologram was discontinued by Yonex India (Sunrise Sports) in Jan 2022, and RESTARTED again in May 2026, but was discontinued again in July 2026 until further notice.

A word on the everything-is-fake mindset

The word "fake" has become so common in badminton discussions that many buyers now use it more often than the word "genuine." While caution is good, making accusations without understanding the facts only creates unnecessary confusion.

Counterfeit manufacturing is not as simple as pressing a button and producing copies overnight. It requires significant investment, tooling, and demand. That's exactly why counterfeiters target a handful of extremely high-volume products, not every racket that enters the market.

Ask yourself this: when you buy paneer, ghee, supplements, or countless other everyday products, how often do you question their authenticity with the same intensity? Yet when it comes to sports equipment, many people assume something is fake before they even understand how the product is manufactured or distributed.

One of the latest examples is the claim that a Yonex premium rackets - Made in Japan is fake because its engraved serial number doesn't "match the date." This theory has no factual basis. If someone were capable of manufacturing a convincing counterfeit of a premium Made-in-Japan racket, engraving any date or serial format they wanted would be one of the easiest parts of the process. More importantly, Yonex racket serial numbers are not authenticated by simply trying to match them to a date in the way many people claim online.

Unfortunately, misinformation spreads much faster than facts. Many buyers confidently repeat things they have heard on social media or forums without verifying whether those claims are actually true. Repeating incorrect information doesn't make it expertise.

India has many honest retailers, distributors, and importers who spend substantial time, money, and effort sourcing genuine products. Instead of appreciating that effort, some buyers label products as fake simply because they haven't seen them elsewhere or because they don't understand how imports work. A product being uncommon does not make it counterfeit.

This mindset discourages businesses from introducing new models, exclusive imports, and niche products to the Indian market. Why take the risk of investing in inventory when the first reaction from some buyers is, "It must be fake because nobody else has it"?

Perhaps the most disappointing part is when people who claim to have 10 to 15 years of badminton experience confidently declare genuine products to be fake based on internet myths rather than evidence. Experience should encourage critical thinking, not overconfidence. Years spent playing badminton do not automatically translate into expertise in manufacturing, distribution, or product authentication.

Before calling a product fake, take a moment to verify the facts. A careless accusation doesn't just damage a seller's reputation. It undermines the efforts of businesses that are genuinely working to bring authentic products to Indian players. Skepticism is healthy. Baseless allegations are not.

If you're someone who declares a product fake because the online photos look slightly brighter, the physical product looks a little darker, or there are minor cosmetic variations that naturally occur between production batches, then it's time to reconsider whether you're evaluating badminton equipment - or simply looking for reasons to discredit it.

Constantly labeling genuine products as fake based on superficial differences doesn't make you an expert. It spreads misinformation, misleads new players, harms honest businesses, and ultimately damages the badminton community. If your conclusions are driven by assumptions rather than facts, you're not protecting buyers- you are contributing to the very confusion you claim to fight.

Lining and other Badminton Brands

Besides Yonex, Lining India uses the same scratch mechanism via lining.com to verify the equipment's fakeness and originality. Due to some technical issue, if the code is not working or the site is not opening, you can also scan the QR code through your mobile scanner to verify. Now they implement the Color Code system, so not only the numbers but the colours of the numbers can also be matched, and they are also showing which racket (model) code this is, which is very advanced and good from a buyer's point of view, and most importantly, quite easy.

Brands like Carlton, Ashaway, Mizuno, Woods don't have any verification process yet at the time of writing this article. Neither product is available as a fake in India, so these will be genuine everywhere, whether you buy them offline or online. Apacs has introduced a scratch system, but only some rackets (2026 launched) have the same, and soon will be added to all.

lining scan code

SS Cricket Equipment

Unsurprisingly, almost all cricket equipment is susceptible to piracy, but fakeness issues are mainly limited to cricket bats, balls and kitbags. The sellers mostly try to fool people by pasting a popular brand sticker on any bat and then selling the bat as a genuine article. Moreover, some sellers offer low-quality kitbags made with cheap building materials at the price of a high-quality product.

To overcome the above problems, a renowned name in the cricketing equipment world, SS, developed a QR code scan system for cricket bats. You need to scan that QR code on SS Cricket bats through any scanner on your smartphone. After asking for your personal information, the information about the product will be displayed.

ss bats scan qr

SG Cricket Equipments

How to scan an SG cricket bat QR code

SG cricket bats and balls carry two QR codes: one inventory code and one hidden verification code. To confirm a bat is genuine, download the official SG Team app, gently scratch off the hidden code, and scan it inside the app. Scanning the visible inventory code will not verify the product.

Steps to verify an SG bat or ball:

Install the SG Team app from the Play Store (Android) or App Store (iOS). The code only reads correctly inside this app, not a normal camera scanner.
Find the two QR codes on the bat or ball. One is the inventory code, the other is the genuineness code.
Gently scratch the hidden verification code with your nail to expose it.
Open the app and scan the exposed code to see the product details.

Most "fake" complaints happen because the buyer scanned the inventory code instead of the hidden verification code. Read the sticker instructions before assuming a product is counterfeit.

sg scan qr code
sg team app from playstore

To be honest, most of these manufacturers don't have a dedicated cell to handle these complaints. So when people complain about the issue, chances are some receptionist or someone else picks up the phone and gives a heart attack to the person complaining by saying something like that's not our dealer/product model or blah-blah.

Where to Buy the Genuine Sports Goods?

Genuine products move through many hands: distributors, dealers, retailers, and resellers. Any of them can, in theory, pass on a fake, but buying from an established seller in this chain gives you a far better chance of getting the real thing. The type of seller does not change the product itself or the warranty attached to it. What often changes is the price, since a dealer or reseller may offer the same genuine item at a lower rate than a brand's own outlet.

If you are unsure whether a shop or website can be trusted, start with the basics. An outdated site design, low-quality product images, the website's own name spelling is wrong, missing contact details, no Instagram presence and no app on the Play Store are all fair reasons to be cautious. None of these proves a seller is fake on its own, but together they tell you how seriously the business takes its own operation.

One thing that is not a reliable signal is Cash on Delivery. A site that does not offer COD at your location is not automatically fake. COD carries real costs for the seller, and COD adds expenses and strains the wider economy, so some sellers disable it to keep prices lower. Refused or mid-way cancelled COD orders are a direct loss to the seller, and the common habit of ordering the same item from two or three sites and keeping whichever arrives first only adds to that cost.

Remember that dishonesty is possible with COD as well, so its presence or absence says very little about authenticity. Judge a seller on their track record, sourcing, and transparency, not on a single payment option.

Conclusion

The quality and quantity of sporting equipment have increased significantly over the past few years. We have more brands than ever. However, at the same time, the number of fake equipment is also at an all-time high in the market. Hence, it is best to do the proper research before buying anything. Additionally, it is essential to know the process to check if the equipment is genuine or fake.

Moreover, the verification process to check if the equipment is fake or real may look different for different brands, but it is usually the same process. And if you are aware of small things like mobile apps and scratch codes, you can verify your equipment on the spot.

If you have any doubts or more ideas on how to reduce/find fake sports goods products, share them with us below.

Stay tuned for more educational pieces about other sporting equipment.

Page Updated: July 2026