Voting for BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award begins

The wait is over. The nominees of the third edition of BBC Indian Sportswoman (ISWOTY) of the Year award are announced, with public voting kicking off on Tuesday.

The five BBC ISWOTY nominees shortlisted by a distinguished jury of sports journalists, experts and sports writers are:

• Aditi Ashok, Golfer
• Avani Lekhara, Para-shooter
• Lovlina Borgohain, Boxer
• P V Sindhu, Shuttler
• Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, Weightlifter

Online voting will remain open until 28th February, 11.30pm IST (1800 GMT) and the winner will be revealed on 28th March 2022, at an awards ceremony in Delhi.

Liliane Landor, Senior Controller of BBC News International Services and Director of BBC World Service says: “We’re proud that the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award continues to highlight the extraordinary achievements of sportswomen in India.  This year’s nominees are inspirational women and leaders in their respective sports.  All deserve to be victorious, but it’s up to our audiences to vote across our platforms and crown the winner.”

Rupa Jha, Head of India, BBC News, says: “I am so delighted to reveal the names of the nominees. Each edition of BBC ISWOTY nomination has sprung up some new names.  The five nominees this year represent a wide range of sports from a golfer to a Paralympian, the shining stars of Indian sports are here to be celebrated.”

The awards ceremony will also honour a legendary sportswoman with the BBC Lifetime Achievement award, and a young female player will be named as the BBC Emerging Player of the Year.

As the nominees were announced, last year’s BBC Lifetime Achievement award winner, Anju Bobby George, expressed hope at the current situation of Indian sports and said: “India is doing enough to promote talented sportswomen, now things are changing.  Infrastructure is being built, however we need good qualified coaches.  Parents also want to send their children to pursue sports, but sometimes there are safety issues.”

The nominees gave the following reaction on getting shortlisted:

Aditi Ashok, who finished fourth place at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics says: “I am grateful and thankful because this was a good year for me, and I had some great performances.  I am happy that golf is becoming more popular in India.”

Avani Lekhara, the first Indian woman to have won gold in a Paralympics event,  says: “I am really happy that all the hard work that I have done over the last six years is getting recognised.  My long-term goal is to win gold at the 2024 Paralympics.”

Lovlina Borgohain, who secured a bronze medal at Tokyo 2020, says: “We should never think that we can’t do something because we are women or girls.  We women can do everything, we are all equal.”

PV Sindhu, the first Indian woman ever to win two consecutive Olympic medals, says: “Success doesn’t come easy, it’s not just few months of hard work, but years of hard work.  Every day is a process, that’s how you come up to a certain level.

Saikom Mirabai Chanu, who won a gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championships in 2017 and clinched a silver medal at Tokyo 2020, says: “I’ve heard people say girls can’t lift heavy weights and that it damages women’s body.  But that’s not true, nothing has happened to me.”

Voting information: The public can vote online for free on BBC ISWOTY Voting Page, and Voting terms and conditions can be accessed here.

There will be a series of in-depth programmes on the inspiring journey of this year’s nominees on BBC Indian Languages websites.  BBC World News will telecast a documentary featuring the nominees on Saturday 19th Feb at 23:00 IST (17:30 GMT), Sunday 20th Feb at 10:00 IST (04:30 GMT) and at 16:00 IST (10:30 GMT). BBC Sport will publish a special piece on the rise of female para-athletes in India.