Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu wins BBC Indian Sportswoman Of The Year award
Tokyo Olympic Games silver-medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu has bagged the 2022 'BBC Indian Sportswoman Of The Year' award after a public vote.
The 28-year-old weightlifter from Manipur became the first athlete to win the award twice in a row after bagging it in 2021 as well.
At the Tokyo Games, she had become the first Indian to win a silver in the sport. Last year, she went on to secure gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. She also won a silver medal at the World Weightlifting Championships in 2022.
"I am really excited and want to say that I will be working even harder for the forthcoming games and win more medals for India," said Chanu.
The other short-listed contenders for the award were wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, boxer Nikhat Zareen and badminton player PV Sindhu.
Table tennis player Bhavina Patel won the 'BBC Para Sportswoman of the Year' award, a category introduced this year.
She won a silver at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, becoming the firs