Indian women continue to redefine excellence across sporting arenas, and 2025 stands as a landmark year of collective brilliance. From cricket pitches and shooting ranges to chess boards and athletics tracks, five extraordinary athletes have earned nominations for the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year Awards 2025, celebrating not just medals, but milestones that have reshaped Indian sport.
Leading the list are Indian women’s cricket icons Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, joined by chess trailblazer Divya Deshmukh, pistol shooting sensation Suruchi Singh, and track and field star Jyothi Yarraji. Together, they represent a powerful generation of women who have broken barriers and set new standards on the global stage.
Harmanpreet Kaur: The Leader Who Changed History
India’s World Cup-winning captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, etched her name in gold after leading the country to its first-ever ICC Women’s World Cup title in November 2025. Playing under immense pressure on home soil, Kaur produced one of the defining knocks of her career – an 88-ball 89 in the semi-final against Australia while chasing a daunting target of 339.
Her reputation as a big-match player was already cemented years earlier with her iconic 171* in the 2017 World Cup semi-final, an innings still regarded as one of the greatest in women’s cricket. Beyond numbers, Kaur’s leadership has inspired a generation, earning her recognition in Time Magazine’s Top 100 Emerging Leaders (2023) and BBC’s 100 Most Inspiring Women list.
Smriti Mandhana: Elegance, Records, and Relentless Growth
Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana continues her ascent toward all-time great status. The left-handed batter boasts the second-most ODI centuries and ranks among the top run-scorers among active players.
Hailing from Sangli, Maharashtra, Mandhana’s journey has been shaped by family and discipline. In September 2024, she rewrote history with a 50-ball century against Australia, the fastest by an Indian in ODIs, surpassing Virat Kohli’s long-standing record. A two-time ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year (2018, 2021), Mandhana remains the face of modern Indian women’s cricket.
Divya Deshmukh: A New Empress of the Chessboard
At just 20, Divya Deshmukh has already transformed Indian chess history. In July 2025, she became the youngest-ever and first Indian champion of the FIDE Women’s World Cup, a triumph that also earned her the Grandmaster title.
The victory carried symbolic weight, as Deshmukh defeated Koneru Humpy — India’s first woman Grandmaster in the final. From winning the Under-7 national title at age seven to Olympic bronze with the Indian team in 2022 and double gold in 2024, the Nagpur-born prodigy represents the future of Indian chess.
Suruchi Singh: Precision, Power, and Podium Finishes
Teenage shooter Suruchi Singh has emerged as one of India’s most consistent medal winners. The Haryana-born pistol shooter dominated 2025 with gold medals at ISSF World Cups in Buenos Aires, Lima, and Munich, achieving a rare international treble.
Her rise has been swift – from seven gold medals at the 2024 National Shooting Championships to becoming the world’s top-ranked woman in the 10m air pistol category by September 2025. She also added an Asian Championship bronze alongside Manu Bhaker and Palak Gulia, underlining India’s growing depth in women’s shooting.
Jyothi Yarraji: Breaking Barriers, One Hurdle at a Time
Sprinter-hurdler Jyothi Yarraji has scripted a story of resilience and record-breaking speed. She became the first Indian woman to qualify for the Olympic 100m hurdles at the Paris 2024 Games and has since continued her upward trajectory.
Born to parents who worked as a security guard and domestic worker, Yarraji shattered the national record in 2022 and kept improving it. Her medal haul includes Asian Championship gold (2025), silver at the Asian Games, and multiple continental podium finishes, firmly establishing her as Asia’s leading hurdler.
The nominees were shortlisted by an eminent jury comprising sports editors, writers, and specialists, based on performances over the past year. According to BBC News leadership, the awards aim to amplify women’s sporting achievements and bring their stories to audiences across India and the world.
