On February 17 2025, the 5th edition of the “British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Indian Sportswoman of the Year (ISWOTY) Award 2024” was held in New Delhi, Delhi. The event celebrates and honors the outstanding achievements of Indian sportswomen, recognizing their excellence across various fields of competition.
- Indian shooter Manu Bhaker was honored with the ‘BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award 2024’, becoming the first Indian woman to win 2 bronze medals in a single edition of the Games at Paris 2024 Olympics.
- Para Shooter Avani Lekhara was named the ‘BBC Para Sportswoman of the Year 2024’, becoming the first Indian woman to win 3 Paralympic medals, including gold at Paris 2024 Olympics following a gold and bronze in Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Nominees:
i.The nominations of the award 2024 were announced on January 16, 2025, showcasing 5 remarkable Indian sportswomen.
ii.The shortlisted nominees, who proceeded to the public vote, included Aditi Ashok, professional golfer; Manu Bhaker, professional shooter; Avani Lekhara, professional shooter; Smriti Mandhana, India women’s cricket vice-captain and Vinesh Phogat, professional freestyle wrestler
BBC Awards 2024 Winners:
| Award Category | Winner Name | Sport Type |
|---|---|---|
| BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year (ISWOTY) 2024 | Manu Bhaker | Shooting |
| BBC Emerging Athlete of the Year 2024 | Sheetal Devi | Archery |
| Lifetime Achievement 2024 | Mithali Raj | Cricket |
| Indian Para-sportswoman of the Year 2024 | Avani Lekhara | Shooting |
Highlights:
i.Manu Bhaker made history at the 2024 Olympics, winning an Olympic medal in shooting, with 2 bronze medals in the 10meter (m) pistol and mixed team events. She won 2 Olympic medals, 7 Asian Games and Championships medals, and 21 World Championship and World Cup medals.
- She won golds at the 2018 Commonwealth Games (10m air pistol) and 2022 Asian Games (25m pistol team).
- She became the youngest Indian at the age of 16 to win a World Cup gold in 2018.
- She previously won the BBC’s ISWOTY Emerging Athlete of the Year award 2021.
Awards: She was received the ‘Arjuna Award’ in 2020 for her outstandinging performance in sports. In January 2025 she was honoured with the ‘Khel Ratna Award’ (now Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award), formerly known as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, for her spectacular performance in sports.
ii.Avani Lekhara is a pioneering Indian rifle shooter and a double gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Paralympics.
- She won bronze in the 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 at the 2020 Games, making history as the 1st Indian woman to win multiple Paralympic medals.
- She’s a 2-time gold and 1-time silver medalist at the Para World Cup 2022.
iii.Sheetal Devi, the 18-year-old archer, was awarded the ‘Emerging Athlete Award 2024’. She became India’s youngest Paralympic medallist, clinching a bronze in Paris 2024 Paralympics.
- She secured 2 golds and 1 silver at the 2022 Asian Para Games, a silver at the World Para Archery Championship 2023, and received the Arjuna Award in 2023.
iv.Mithali Raj was honored with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award 2024’ for her remarkable 18-year captaincy of the Indian women’s cricket team.
- She holds the record at the age of 42, for the longest-serving captain in international cricket history, leading the team from 2004 to 2022.
About BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year (ISWOTY) Award:
i.The BBC ISWOTY was introduced by BBC Hindi in December 2019 to honor Indian sportswomen in their respective fields of competition.
ii.The inaugural edition of the awards took place in March 2020, with badminton star Pusarla Venkata Sindhu receiving the first-ever honor for her unwavering dedication to the sport of Badminton.
iii.Padma Shri Awardee, Koneru Humpy, an Indian Chess Player, won the 2nd edition of the BBC ISWOTY 2021.
iv.Padma Shri Awardee, Mirabai Chanu, an Indian Weightlifter, won the 3rd and 4th edition of the BBC ISWOTY 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Nomination and Selection Procedure:
i.A jury consisting of sports journalists, experts, and BBC editors is responsible for selecting a long-list of 50 Indian sportswomen.
ii.These nominees are chosen based on their performances during the 12-month period leading up to the year of the award.
iii.Public Voting Process: The 5 sportswomen who receive the most votes from the jury move forward to the public voting stage. The public cast their votes through various BBC Indian language websites and the BBC Sport website.
iv.Jury-Selected Awards: While the headline award is determined through public voting, the other 3 categories are solely decided by the jury.
About British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC):
Director-General (DG)- Timothy Douglas Davie
Headquarters– London, the United Kingdom (UK)
Established- 1922
