Ace shuttler PV Sindhu, Women’s World Boxing Champion Nikhat Zareen and three others athletes are nominated for the BBC Indian Sportswoman Of The Year (ISWOTY) award.
Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, who recently protested against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, are among five sportspersons to be nominated for the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award The list also includes the name of Tokyo Olympics silver medalist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu.
Vinesh Phogat belongs to a family of wrestlers in Haryana. Vinesh is the daughter of wrestler Rajpal Phogat. Sakshi Malik who is from Mokhra village of Rohtak district of Haryana, first came into limelight when she hoisted the tricolor in Rio after winning a bronze medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
They were selected by the committee of jury, that included sports journalists and writers. The winner of the award will be selected through public voting which started on Monday and will continue till midnight of February 20.
The winner will be announced on 5th March. Roopa Jha, the Head of BBC News in India, said that they have also launched the new award category, BBC ISWOTY. 2018 Asian Para Games gold medalist Ekta Bhayan welcomed the move and stressed on need to make the stadium more accessible to physically challenged athletes.