New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana, who were central to India’s historic 2025 Women’s World Cup triumph, and chess prodigy Divya Deshmukh are among the nominees
for the 2025 BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year Awards.
Pistol shooting sensation Suruchi Singh and track and field athlete Jyothi Yarraji are the other two nominations for the prestigious annual award for the year 2025.
“Indian Sportswoman of the Year marks a year of sporting brilliance for women across India, and the BBC World Service plays an essential role in showcasing and celebrating those endeavours like no other media provider.
“We’re thrilled to give these women a platform to amplify their hard-earned achievements to audiences in India and around the world,” Fiona Crack, Interim Global Director, BBC News, said in a release.
Captain courageous ============ Kaur, the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, led the country to its maiden ICC Women’s World Cup title in November 2025.
Playing on home soil, she led from the front with an 88-ball 89, chasing a tall target of 339 runs in the semi-finals against Australia.
In another World Cup semi-final against the same opponent back in 2017, her innings of 171 not out is still widely regarded as one of the greatest innings in women’s cricket.
She has featured in Time magazine’s 2023 list of Top 100 Emerging Leaders and BBC’s 100 Most Inspiring Women.
Chasing greatness ============ Mandhana, the vice-captain of the same team, is already making a claim for a place among the all-time greats of the sport.
The 29-year-old left-hander has the second-highest number of centuries in one-day internationals and the third-highest runs among current players.
Hailing from Sangli city in Maharashtra, Mandhana was inspired by her father and brother, both of whom played cricket at the district level.
In September last year, she made a 50-ball hundred against Australia – the fastest ton by an Indian in the format, breaking Virat Kohli’s record.
She has been named the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year twice, in 2018 and 2021.
New queen of 64 Squares ================== A 20-year-old chess prodigy, Deshmukh scripted history last July by becoming the first Indian and the youngest ever champion of the FIDE Women’s World Cup. The feat earned her grandmaster status.
In the finals, it was a passing of baton moment as Deshmukh defeated Koneru Humpy, the first Indian woman to become a grandmaster.
Born in Nagpur, Deshmukh started playing chess at the young age of five. Within two years, she became the Under-7 national champion and in 2017, she bagged the World Youth Chess Championship title in the girls’ under-12 category.
In 2022, she played a key role in India’s bronze-winning team at the Olympiad. Two years later, it was time for bigger glory as she bagged an individual gold and was also part of the team that finished top of the podium.
Guns and glory ========== In shooting, Singh emerged as one of the top players by consistently winning medals in international competitions, including ISSF World Cups and World Championships.
Hailing from Haryana, she made headlines in 2024, winning seven gold medals at the National Shooting Championship. Less than a year later, the 19-year-old made her senior international debut, quickly establishing herself on the global stage.
In 2025, she won individual gold medals in the ISSF World Cup series held in Buenos Aires, Lima, and Munich, completing a rare golden treble. In Lima, she secured gold in the mixed team event.
At the Asian Shooting Championship, she won a bronze medal in the women’s team event alongside Manu Bhaker and Palak Gulia.
In September, she became the top-ranked woman shooter in the ISSF 10m air pistol category.
Setting the stage ablaze =============== As far as Yarraji is concerned, she became the first Indian woman to qualify for the Olympics 100m hurdles in the 2024 Paris Games.
Overcoming hurdles has never been a problem for Yarraji as the 26-year-old was born in a family with limited means – her father worked as a security guard and mother a domestic worker.
In 2022, she broke the national record for the 100m hurdles, clocking 13.23 seconds, and has since surpassed her own record multiple times. She also excelled at the 2022 National Games, claiming multiple gold medals across sprint and hurdle events, and earned bronze at the World University Games and silver at the 2022 Asian Games.
In 2023, Yarraji won gold at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in the 60m hurdles and silver at the Asian Athletics Championships, cementing her reputation as Asia’s top hurdler.
She also won the 100m hurdles gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships 2025 in Gumi.
These athletes have been shortlisted by an eminent jury of sports editors, writers and specialists, following an evaluation of performances over the past year. PTI AH AH APA APA
