The nominees for the sixth edition of BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year have been announced.
This year there are five contenders for it – cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, chess player Divya Deshmukh, shooter Suruchi Singh and athlete Jyoti Yaraji.
This award aims to honor the contribution of women in Indian sports in the year 2025 and celebrate the achievements of all women associated with sports in the country.
A panel selected by BBC has prepared the list of these five Indian women players. The jury comprises some of the most experienced and distinguished sports journalists, experts and writers from across India.
For the first time, BBC has formed a Grand Jury, which will decide the winners. This grand jury includes tennis star Leander Paes, long jumper Anju Bobby George and para athlete Deepa Malik.
The winners will be honored at a ceremony to be held on February 16. Three other female players who received nominations from the BBC jury will also be honored in different categories at the ceremony.
- BBC Para Sportswoman of the Year Award – will be given for excellence in Para sports.
- BBC Emerging Player of the Year Award – will recognize the achievements of a young player.
- BBC Lifetime Achievement Award – Honors an experienced sportsperson who has made a unique contribution to the field of sports.
Fiona Crack, Interim Global Director of BBC News, says: “Indian Sportswoman of the Year reflects a year full of incredible achievements by Indian women in sport. The BBC World Service plays a vital role unlike any other media organization in showcasing and celebrating these efforts. We are delighted to be able to give these women a platform to share their hard-earned achievements with audiences in India and around the world.”
This program is being managed and produced by Collective Newsroom.
“Women are often discouraged from staying away from sports because of marriage, age, body standards or disability,” says Rupa Jha, editor-in-chief and co-founder of Collective Newsroom. “This year’s editorial theme makes a simple but powerful statement that everyone can play because the game belongs to everyone. The real impact is not just in the results, but in the inclusion and opportunities available to all.” “To be measured by opportunities, ISWOTY 2026 celebrates every woman who has dared to take the field and made her mark.”
Nominees for the sixth edition of BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year…
Divya Deshmukh, Chess Grandmaster
20-year-old chess player Divya Deshmukh created history in July by becoming the first Indian and the youngest ever champion to win the FIDE Women’s World Cup.
With this great achievement he also got the status of Grandmaster. When Divya defeated Koneru Humpy in the final, it was a moment like giving command to the next generation, because Koneru Humpy was the first woman Grandmaster of India.
Born in 2005 in Nagpur, a city in western India, Divya started playing chess at the age of just five years. Within two years, she became the Under‑7 National Champion and in 2017, she won the World Youth Chess Championship title in the Girls Under‑12 category.
He played an important role in India’s bronze medal winning team in the Chess Olympiad held in Chennai in 2022.
Two years later, an even bigger success was achieved. Along with winning the individual gold medal, she was part of the team that secured first place on the podium.
Harmanpreet Kaur, cricketer
Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur led the country to its first ICC Women’s World Cup title in November.
While playing on the home ground, while chasing a big target of 339 runs in the semi-final against Australia, he played a responsible inning of 89 runs in 88 balls and played an important role in helping the team win.
Earlier, her unbeaten inning of 171 runs played in the World Cup semi-final against Australia in 2017 is still counted among the best innings of women’s cricket.
The day Harmanpreet was born to sports-loving parents in the state of Punjab in 1989, her father bought her a T-shirt with ‘Good Batting’ written on it.
Since her debut in international cricket in 2009, as if proving this prediction to be true, she has remained a strong link in the batting of the Indian team.
She has been included in Time Magazine’s list of Top 100 Emerging Leaders of 2023 and BBC’s 100 Most Inspiring Women list.
In 2017, he was also awarded the Arjuna Award, which is India’s second highest sporting honour. Harmanpreet Kaur has also recently been awarded the Padma Shri award.
Smriti Mandhana, cricketer
Indian women’s cricket team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana is fast moving towards making her place among the greatest players of the game so far.
29-year-old left-handed batsman Mandhana is second in terms of most centuries in women’s ODI cricket and third in terms of scoring most runs among current players.
Born in Sangli city of Maharashtra state in western India, Smriti got inspiration to play cricket from her father and brother. Both of them have played cricket at the district level.
While playing the Under‑19 Zonal Tournament in 2013, she became the first Indian woman player to score a double century in a List-A match.
Last year in September, he scored a century in 50 balls against Australia, which was the fastest century by an Indian player in 50 over cricket and he broke the record of Virat Kohli.
She has been named ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year twice in 2018 and 2021. In the year 2019, the Government of India honored him with the prestigious Arjuna Award.
Suruchi Singh, Shooter
Suruchi Singh, who hails from Haryana, a state with an illustrious history of shooting, came into limelight in 2024 when she won seven gold medals in the National Shooting Championship.
At the age of 19, he made his international debut at the senior level and very soon established himself on the world stage.
In 2025, he won individual gold medals at the ISSF World Cup Series in Buenos Aires, Lima and Munich, completing a rare ‘Golden Treble’. He also won the gold medal in the mixed team event in Lima.
In the Asian Shooting Championship 2025 held in Kazakhstan, she along with Manu Bhakar and Palak Gulia won the bronze medal in the women’s team event.
In September, she became the world No. 1 female shooter in the International Shooting Sport Federation’s 10 meter air pistol category.
Jyoti Yaraji, athlete
In a country where achievements at the top level in track and field events have been few, Jyoti Yaraji became the first Indian woman to qualify for the 100m hurdles at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
It has never been difficult for Jyoti to overcome obstacles. 26 year old Jyoti grew up in a family with limited resources. His father was a security guard and his mother did domestic work.
In 2022, he broke the national record by completing the 100 meter hurdle race in 13.23 seconds. After this, she has broken her own record many times.
He also performed brilliantly in the 2022 National Games, where he won several gold medals in different events of sprint and hurdle race. Apart from this, he also won bronze medal in the World University Games and silver medal in the 2022 Asian Games.
In 2023, Jyoti won the gold medal in 60 meter hurdles race in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championship and the silver medal in the Asian Athletics Championship.
After this, his identity as Asia’s top hurdles runner was further confirmed. He also won the gold medal in the 100 meter hurdle race in the Asian Athletics Championship held in Gumi in 2025.
In 2024 he was awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award.
The BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year Awards was launched in 2019 to honor and celebrate the achievements of India’s sportswomen. The winner of the first edition was badminton player PV Sindhu.
The winner of the 2020 edition was world chess champion Koneru Humpy, while weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won the award in 2021 and 2022. Whereas, shooter Manu Bhakar got the award for 2024.
Athletes PT Usha and Anju Bobby George, weightlifter Karnam Malleswari, hockey player Pritam Siwach and cricketer Mithali Raj have been past winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Table tennis player Bhavana Patel and shooter Avni Lekhara have been honored with the BBC Indian Para-Sportswoman Award.
Cricketer Shefali Verma, shooter Manu Bhaker and archer Sheetal Devi have received the BBC Emerging Player of the Year Award.
Published by Collective Newsroom for the BBC.
