Indian weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu has been announced the winner of the third edition of the BBC Indian Sportswoman Of The Year award. Mirabai Chanu created history in 2021 when she became the first Indian weightlifter to clinch a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
In her reaction to winning the award, Mirabai Chanu thanked the BBC and said, “I am currently training in the United States of America. I will give my best to win gold at this year’s Asian and Commonwealth Games. Thanks again to BBC India for honouring me with the BBC Indian Sportswoman Of The Year award.”
Tim Davie, BBC’s Director General, who hosted the awards ceremony in New Delhi said, “Congratulations to Mirabai Chanu, who is a fantastic sportswoman and a deserving winner of the award. It’s wonderful to be here in Delhi in the BBC’s centenary year, and to honour the talented Indian sportswomen who’ve achieved so much, often in the face of challenging circumstances.”
The ‘BBC Emerging Player’ award has been presented to Shafali Verma, the youngest female cricketer who played for India in Women’s Twenty20 International match in 2019. She thanked the BBC for the award and said, “I hope to continue playing in the team for the next twenty to twenty five years. My aim would be to make the Indian team win as much possible.”
The first Indian woman to have won a medal at the Olympics in 2000, Karnam Malleswari has been presented the ‘BBC Lifetime Achievement’ award. Expressing her joy she said, “After all the medals I have won, this award gives me a lot of motivation to work even harder. I am very thankful to the BBC that it is honouring not only the current players but players like us as well.”
In this edition of BBC ISWOTY, the Olympians and the Paralympians from the Tokyo games are also honoured including the Indian women’s and men’s hockey teams.
Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of State of Odisha, which sponsors both the hockey teams, congratulated the players, along with Dr. Narinder Batra, President of International Hockey Federation.
The awards ceremony was attended by eminent personalities from sports, media, culture and the political world.