BBC is back with its fourth edition of the BBC Indian Sportswoman Of The Year (ISWOTY) Award 2022 to honour the achievements of Indian female players and a new award category introduced to honour the Indian Para-Sportswoman Of The Year.
The nominees for the BBC Indian Sportswoman Of The Year were announced today at a press conference in New Delhi.
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Mirabai Chanu, Weightlifter: The first Indian weightlifter to clinch a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, followed by a gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.
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Sakshi Malik, Wrestler: The first Indian woman wrestler who won a medal at the Rio Olympics,followed by a gold at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. She has won a silver and bronze at previous Commonwealth games.
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Vinesh Phogat, Wrestler: The first Indian woman to win two World Championship medals in wrestling, also the first to win gold at both Commonwealth and Asian Games. Her latest gold medal was won at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
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P V Sindhu, Shuttler: The first Indian woman to win two consecutive medals at the Olympics, bronze at the Tokyo Olympics and silver at the Rio Games. She ended 2021 with a silver at the Badminton World Federation World Tour finals.
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Nikhat Zareen, Boxer: After winning the Junior World Boxing Championship in 2011, she won a gold medal at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in 2022.
These five nominees have been selected by independent jury members that consists of eminent sports journalists and writers. The voting for the BBC ISWOTY award has kicked off today. Members of the public from across the world can vote for their favourite player on BBC News, BBC Hindi, BBC Gujarati, BBC Marathi, BBC Punjabi, BBC Tamil, BBC Telugu until 20th of February 2330 IST/1800 GMT.
The Head of India, BBC News, Rupa Jha, elaborated on BBC’s initiative of recognising women athletes’achievements in more categories. “We are delighted to announce that this year we are introducing BBC Indian Para-Sportswoman Of The Year award,” she said. “This is to recognise and celebrate women para-athletes and their terrific journey.”
Ekta Bhyan, para-athlete and a gold medallist in 2018 Asian Para Games appreciated the BBC for rewarding para-athletes, and sending a powerful message that people with disabilities have talents and abilities which should be celebrated and recognised. She said, “Such recognition helps in increasing public awareness and inclusivity of para-sports. I hope this leads to more opportunities for para-athletes to compete and excel, and inspire more people with disabilities to participate in sports.”
At the press conference, Vijender Singh Beniwal, first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal in 2008 expressed delight that the achievements of Indian female players is being praised and their stories are now reaching people through the BBC’s initiative. He further added: “Our sportswomen have proven their calibre on the grounds time and again. They are the real fighters, it’s not easy to quantify how much respect they trulydeserve.”
On the 5th of March 2023, the winner of BBC ISWOTY will be announced at the awards ceremony. The BBC Emerging Player Of The Year award and the BBC Lifetime Achievement Player award will also be named and honoured along with the new category of Indian Para-Sportswoman Of The Year.
Also in February, BBC is working on a joint editorial collaboration with Indian media houses to develop a gender lens while reporting. The content jointly produced under the BBCShe project will be published on BBC News websites and on our collaborators platforms: AgentsOfIshq, BehanBox, Baimanus, FeminismInIndia, GurgaonKiAwaaz, TheBridge, TheNewsMinute and Women’sWeb.
