The BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award nominations are out. For the second year in a row, I’ve been fortunate to be part of the panel to shortlist these names.
I find this task exhilarating. It allows me the chance to revisit stellar performances. I get to celebrate others I might have missed over the year. I go down rabbit holes in search of the nuances of sport. And I marvel again at the number of young women pushing themselves and the many social, cultural, financial, mental and physical barriers they face every day in the pursuit of something special.
It also, without fail, has me tearing my hair out. Because from this world of excellence, it is never easy to nominate just five and be ‘fair’ about it.
The nominations are based on performances inside a specific time window and I follow the calendar religiously. I spend way too much time worrying how I should rate a performance in a competition that began inside the window but where the actual lifting of trophy/wearing of medals happened a week after the window closed. How, then, shall I weigh the achievements of a ‘world cup’ in one sport against those in a ‘world championship’ of another? Does dominance at the domestic level compare to a spark in the Asian circuit? Are feats in Olympic sports to be weighed differently from non-Olympic sports? What about para sports? The different categories within para sports – trying to rank performances across them is deeply discomfiting.
Despite the many internal arguments I end up having with myself over this exercise, it is still one I deeply cherish and one I believe has an important place in the Indian sporting ecosystem. India is celebrating its female sportspersons more these days, but any chance to do so is still worth taking. Because it can still reach someone new and change a perspective, if not change a life.
And every sportswoman is doing something significant, in her own way. It feels like a privilege to bear witness.
The full list of nominees for BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year 2026 are here. The winners across categories will be announced on February 16.