BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year nominees revealed
- Published
The nominees for the fourth edition of BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year have been announced.
The five contenders are weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, wrestlers Sakshee Malikkh and Vinesh Phogat, badminton player PV Sindhu and boxer Nikhat Zareen.
The award honours the contributions of Indian sportswomen in 2022 and celebrates the achievements of all women involved in sport in the country.
You can vote for your Indian Sportswoman of the Year on any of the BBC's Indian Language websites, or on the BBC Sport website.
Voting will remain open to the public until Monday, 20 February 2023 at 18:00 GMT (23:30 IST) and the winner will be announced on Sunday, 5 March 2023 at a ceremony in Delhi. All of the terms and conditions and privacy notice are on the website.
The sportswoman with the most public votes will be the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year, with results to be announced on the BBC Indian Language sites and the BBC Sport website.
At the ceremony, the BBC will also honour an iconic sportswomen with a Lifetime Achievement award, as well as presenting the award for Indian Para Sportswoman of the Year and Indian Emerging Player of the Year.
The inaugural award ceremony was held in February 2020 and, following a tumultuous period in which the coronavirus pandemic has affected all areas of life, the award returns for its fourth year.
A panel selected by the BBC compiled the shortlist of five Indian sportswomen. The jury includes some of the most authoritative sports journalists, experts and writers across India.
Meet the nominees
Mirabai Chanu (weightlifting)
Mirabai Chanu: 'I got a full diet only twice a week'
Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu added to her impressive medal collection in 2022.
At the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, she set two Games as she successfully defended her title. She then won silver behind China's Jiang Huihua at the World Championships in Bogota.
In 2021, Chanu became the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal at an Olympic Games. It was redemption from the 2016 Olympics in Rio, when she failed the clean and jerk lift three times and almost said farewell to the sport. Born in the north-eastern state of Manipur and the daughter of a tea-stall owner, she faced a lot of financial struggles in the initial stages of her career, but fought with courage to become a world champion in 2017.
Sakshee Malikkh (wrestling)
Sakshee Malikkh: 'I wanted to win so I could travel in a plane'
Sakshee Malikkh made a stunning return to the wrestling world in 2022, winning Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham. She beat opponents from England, Cameroon and Canada to win her third Commonwealth medal, after silver in 2014 and bronze in 2018.
The 30-year old created history in 2016, when she became the first female Indian wrestler to win an Olympic medal, with bronze at the Rio Games.
Sakshee was inspired to succeed in wrestling by her grandfather, who also competed in the sport. Her husband, Satyawart Kadian, is also a Commonwealth wrestling medallist.
Vinesh Phogat (wrestling)
Vinesh Phogat: 'I had no picnics or holidays, it was just training, diet and sleep'
Vinesh Phogat completed an impressive hat-trick of Commonwealth Games wrestling gold medals in 2022. After previous success at 48kg (2014) and 50kg (2018), she was victorious in the 53kg division in Birmingham.
The 28-year old then added to her medal haul at the 2022 World Championships in Belgrade, winning bronze, to become the first Indian woman to win two world medals.
Phogat comes from a family of female wrestlers, with her cousins Geeta and Babita also having won Commonwealth gold.
PV Sindhu (badminton)
PV Sindhu: 'It's not just months of hard work, it's years'
Badminton player Pusarla Venkata (PV) Sindhu has set new standards in the sport for Indian women. In 2022, she won the women's singles at the Commonwealth Games, beating Canada's Michelle Li in the final. She also took home a silver medal from Birmingham in the mixed team event and was the flag-bearer for the Indian team at the opening ceremony.
Sindhu is the first Indian woman to win two individual medals at the Olympic Games - silver in Rio was followed by a bronze medal in Tokyo. Between those events, she became the first Indian player to win a World Championship gold, when she triumphed in the women's singles in Basel in 2019.
She won three BWF World Tour titles in 2022, including the Singapore Open.
Nikhat Zareen (boxing)
Nikhat Zareen: 'I was questioned for wearing shorts in the ring'
Last year was a golden one for Nikhat Zareen.
First, the 26-year-old came through five fights to win flyweight gold at the World Boxing Championships in Istanbul.
Then, she won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Fighting in the light-flyweight category, she beat opponents from Mozambique, Wales and England before overcoming Northern Ireland's Carly McNaul in the final.
The former junior world champion ended 2022 with a gold medal at the National Boxing Championships in India.
It was Zareen's father who introduced her to sport as he wanted his energetic daughter to channel her energy.
The jury have nominated five Indian sportswomen who had an outstanding calendar year, from 1 October 2021 to 30 September 2022.