CNN-News18 Indian of the Year: Neeraj Chopra, Nikhat Zareen in race for sports crown

Achanta Sharath Kamal (right)

Veteran table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal is also in the running this year. Sharath, at 40 years old, is the oldest nominee this year, but proved he deserves the award no less than his competitors — the paddler from Chennai notched up his best ever performance at the Commonwealth Games in 2022, bagging three gold medals, a silver, and the men's singles title.

Neeraj Chopra

Chopra made history as the first track-and-field athlete from India — and the second in the country's history — to win an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 edition of the Summer Games held in Tokyo last year. Chopra then added more lustre to his growing legend by becoming first Indian ever to win a silver at the World Championships held in July this year.

Nikhat Zareen

Nikhat Zareen, the 26-year-old pugilist from Telangana, is the only woman among the nominees, but is no less a historymaker. Zareen, whose career is marked by pluck, grit, and determination — and a feud with Mary Kom — was crowned the world flyweight champion at this year's World Boxing Championships, becoming the fifth Indian woman ever to win a gold at the prestigious event.

Lakshya Sen

Finally, Lakshya Sen. 21 years old, has been steadily making a name for himself on the senior world badminton circuit before he burst onto the scene late last year. Sen, who trains under Chief National Coach Pullela Gopichand at the latter's academy in Hyderabad, won a bronze medal at the Badminton World Championships, and became the first men's singles player to enter the the final of All England Open since his mentor won the title back in 2001. Sen also won a gold medal at CWG 2022.

CNN-News18 has been setting the precedent of honouring top sportspersons of the country through this flagship initiative. Past winners in the sports category include the likes of Viswanathan Anand, Sania Mirza, PV Sindhu, MS Dhoni, Saina Nehwal, and Abhinav Bindra, to name a few.

The CNN-News18 Indian of the Year awards, presented in partnership with RP-Sanjiv Goekna Group and Reliance Industries Limited, will be announced on Wednesday, October 12, starting at 6 pm.