HIGHLIGHTS-
- Mirabai Chanu was honored with ‘The BBC Indian Sportswoman Of Year Award. Chanu has won the prize over the other four nominees.
- Shefali Verma, an 18-year-old women’s cricketer, was named the BBC Emerging Player of the Year.
Mirabai Chanu, an Olympic silver medalist, has been named the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year. Chanu has received the title over the other four nominees, including star shuttler PV Sindhu, golfer Aditi Ashok, boxer Lovlina Borgohain, and para-shooter Avani Lekhara.
The weightlifter scripted history in the Tokyo Olympics by earning a silver medal for the nation.
“Undergoing training in the US”
Chanu expressed her gratitude for the honor by saying: “In the United States, I am now undergoing training. At this year’s Asian and Commonwealth Games, I’ll do everything I can to earn gold. Thank you to BBC India for recognizing me as BBC Indian Sportswoman Of The Year.”
Other winners at the event
Shefali Verma, an 18-year-old women’s cricketer, was named the BBC Emerging Player of the Year. In 2021, she became the youngest Indian cricketer, male or female, to play for the national team in all formats of the game. Karnam Malleswari, the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in weightlifting in 2000, received the BBC Lifetime Achievement Award. In this edition of BBC ISWOTY, Olympians and Paralympians from the Tokyo Games were also honored.
Life achievements of Chanu
Chanu scripted history by winning silver in the Women’s 49 kg category at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Mirabai Chanu has won many World Championships and Commonwealth Games medals as well. The Indian government honored chanu with the Padma Shri award for her contributions to sports. In 2018, the Government of India bestowed upon her the sports honor of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna.
