London, England, February 7, 2023: The nominees for the fourth edition of BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year have been announced.
The five contenders are weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, wrestlers Sakshee Malikkh and Vinesh Phogat, badminton player PV Sindhu and boxer Nikhat Zareen.
The award honours the contributions of Indian sportswomen in 2022 and celebrates the achievements of all women in sport in the country.
The public can vote for the Indian Sportswoman of the Year on any of the BBC’s Indian language websites, or on the BBC Sport website. Voting will remain open until February 20 and the winner will be announced on Sunday, March 5 at a ceremony in New Delhi.
Chanu won this award in 2021 for her weightlifting silver at the Tokyo Olympics, and has been nominated again.
Other than Chanu, the others have also brought glory to India. Malikkh, 30, made a stunning return to the wrestling world when she won a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Fellow-wrestler Phogat completed an impressive hat-trick of Commonwealth gold medals in 2022. After previous success at 48kg (2014) and 50kg (2018), she was victorious in the 53kg division in Birmingham.
Badminton star PV Sindhu won the women’s singles at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She is also the first Indian woman to win two individual medals at the Olympics, silver in Rio 2016 followed by a bronze medal in Tokyo 2020.
Boxer Zareen had an unforgettable 2022. She won the flyweight gold at the World Boxing Championships in Istanbul, then the Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham.