BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year 2022: Mirabai Chanu wins second successive award - all winners
PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Nikhat Zareen were the other contenders for this year’s award. Nitu Ghanghas won the Emerging Player of the Year award.
Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu has won the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award for the second year running.
Started by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) three years back, the annual award, now in its fourth edition, celebrates Indian female athletes and recognises their successes in various sports over the past year.
A panel of eminent Indian sports journalists and experts voted to choose the nominees before public voting was conducted to determine the winner. The BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year 2022 winner was announced at a gala on Sunday.
Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Mirabai Chanu was nominated alongside Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu, the recipient of the inaugural BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year title in 2020, Olympic bronze medal-winning wrestler Sakshi Malik, two-time wrestling world championships medallist Vinesh Phogat and boxing world champion Nikhat Zareen for this year’s award.
The Manipuri, a former world champion, won a silver medal at the World Weightlifting Championships 2022 in Bogota besides winning the gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games last year.
Boxer Nitu Ghanghas, who won the gold medal in the women’s minimum-weight category at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham last year was conferred with the BBC Emerging Player of the Year award.
The Lifetime Achievement award went to former hockey player Pritam Rani Siwach, who was part of the Indian women’s hockey team which won a silver medal at the 1998 Asian Games and a gold at the Commonwealth Games 2002.
The Indian Para-sportswoman of the Year award, a new category added this year, was given to table tennis player Bhavina Patel. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics silver medal winner continued her good form in 2022 by winning a gold at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
BBC Awards 2022 winners
BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year - Mirabai Chanu (weightlifting)
BBC Emerging Player of the Year - Nitu Ghanghas (boxing)
Lifetime Achievement - Pritam Rani Siwach (hockey)
Indian Para-sportswoman of the Year - Bhavina Patel (table tennis)