The winner of BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year 2022 will be announced today. This is the fourth year the BBC has hosted the awards.
A panel of top judges shortlisted the names of 5 players for this award. Their names were announced in February. The list includes weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Bogad, badminton player B.V. Sindhu and boxer Nikat Zareen are featured.
From February 6 to February 20, people were asked to vote for their favorite female athlete. The player with the highest number of votes will be declared the winner.
Badminton player PV Sindhu, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and chess player Koneru Hampi have won the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award in the past.
The purpose of this event is to showcase the global achievements of Indian sportswomen in all sports fields and to highlight their issues and challenges.
It is part of the BBC’s ongoing commitment to focus on women who have achieved global success in a variety of fields.
The BBC also honors female athletes who have made outstanding achievements and contributions to the field of sports with the BBC Lifetime Achievement Award. Athletes B.D. Usha and Anju Bobby George have received this lifetime achievement award.
We are also committed to diversity and inclusiveness. So to make the awards more inclusive, in this edition we have also introduced the BBC Indian Para-Sportswoman of the Year Award for the Best Para Sportswoman.
Who is on the shortlist?
image source, Getty Images
Meerabai Sanu
Meerabai Sanu
Weightlifting champion Saikom Meerabai Chanu made her name in sports history by becoming the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
He followed that up with a silver medal at the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships and a gold medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Meerabai’s journey has come a long way since she failed to lift the weight limit at the 2016 Rio Games. He almost quit the game. But he proved his mettle by winning the gold medal at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships.
Meerabai was born in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, the daughter of a tea shop owner. He faced many financial difficulties in the early stages of his playing career. But he overcame all the trials and won an Olympic medal. Mirabai Chanu has won the BBC Indian Sportswoman Award for 2021.
Sakshi Malik
image source, Getty Images
Sakshi Malik
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Sakshi created history by winning a bronze medal in the 58 kg category, becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win an award at that Olympic event. She is the fourth Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.
Sakshi was always interested in sports. He was inspired to learn that his grandfather was also a wrestler. After the Rio Olympics, where she won a medal, Sakshi’s sporting career took a setback.
But he made a stunning comeback in 2022 by winning gold at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Earlier, Sakshi Malik had won silver and bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games.
Vinesh Bogat
image source, Getty Images
Vinesh Bogat
Vinesh Bogad became the first Indian to win two World Championship medals in wrestling. She is also the first Indian wrestler to win gold at the Commonwealth and Asian Games.
He has won three consecutive gold medals under different weight categories at the Commonwealth Games. His latest achievement was a gold medal in the 53 kg category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Her cousins Geeta and Babita Bogat have also won international medals in wrestling. Thus, Vinesh Bogat hails from a family of female wrestlers who have won many international medals.
PV Sindhu
image source, Getty Images
PV Sindhu
Badminton player Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (PV Sindhu), the first Indian woman to win two individual medals at the Olympics. The bronze medal in Tokyo was his second Olympic victory. He won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016. PV Sindhu wins gold in 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Earlier, he had won a silver medal in the World Badminton Federation International Tour Finals in 2021. In 2019, Sindhu made history by becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal at the World Championships.
He entered the top 20 of the world rankings in September 2012 at the age of 17. She won the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year 2019 based on public voting.
Nikat Zareen
image source, Getty Images
Nikat Zareen
Nikat Zareen, who won the Junior World Boxing Championship in 2011, will become the Women’s World Boxing Champion in 2022. Nikat also won a gold medal in boxing in the flyweight category at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
It was Zareen’s father who introduced him to the sport so that his energetic daughter could channelize all of her energy into a specific place.
His father encouraged Nigam to put aside his mother’s early anxieties caused by a black eye during a fight at the age of 12 and poor comments from relatives about his marriage prospects and to follow his dreams. Since then he has been running successfully without any obstacles.