The BBC has revealed the five nominees for its sixth annual Indian Sportswoman of the Year award, recognizing achievements in 2025. The contenders include cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, chess player Divya Deshmukh, shooter Suruchi Singh, and athlete Jyothi Yarraji. For the first time, a Grand Jury will select the winner at a ceremony on February 16.
The BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award, established in 2019, aims to honor the contributions of female athletes in India. This year's shortlist, compiled by a panel of sports journalists and experts, highlights exceptional performances from September 1, 2024, to August 31, 2025.
Cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur, captain of the Indian women's team, led her side to their first Women's World Cup title in November 2025. She scored an unbeaten 171 against Australia in a 2017 semi-final, often hailed as one of the greatest innings in women's cricket. Born in Punjab in 1989, Kaur has been a mainstay since her 2009 debut and received the Arjuna Award in 2017.
Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, a 29-year-old left-handed batter from Sangli, holds the second-highest number of ODI centuries among women. She broke Virat Kohli's record with a 50-ball hundred against Australia in 2024. Mandhana earned ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year honors in 2018 and 2021, plus the Arjuna Award in 2019.
In chess, 20-year-old Divya Deshmukh from Nagpur became the youngest Indian Women's World Cup champion in July 2025, defeating Koneru Humpy in the final to earn Grandmaster status. She contributed to India's gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad.
Shooter Suruchi Singh, 19, from Haryana, won seven golds at the 2024 National Shooting Championship and achieved a treble of individual golds in the 2025 World Cup series in Buenos Aires, Lima, and Munich. She topped the 10m air pistol rankings in September 2025.
Athlete Jyothi Yarraji, 26, made history as the first Indian woman to qualify for the Olympic 100m hurdles in Paris. From a modest background, she set multiple national records, won gold at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships, and received the Arjuna Award in 2024.
The Grand Jury, featuring Leander Paes, Anju Bobby George, and Deepa Malik, will decide the winner. Additional honors include awards for Para Sportswoman, Emerging Player, and Lifetime Achievement. Past winners include PV Sindhu in 2019 and Manu Bhaker in 2024.
