Times of India Sports Awards 2026 to Celebrate India's Sporting Heroes in Lucknow
The eighth edition of the prestigious Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA) is scheduled to take place on March 21, 2026, in the vibrant city of Lucknow. This grand event is dedicated to honoring the remarkable achievements of India's finest athletes across a diverse range of sporting disciplines. The awards will specifically recognize performances delivered between January 1 and December 31, 2025, spotlighting standout displays at global championships and major international events that brought immense pride to the nation.
Comprehensive Recognition Across Over 45 Categories
With more than 45 distinct categories, TOISA aims to provide comprehensive recognition, highlighting both established stars and emerging talents who have excelled over the past year. The awards ceremony serves as a platform to celebrate the dedication and hard work of athletes who have represented India on the world stage, showcasing exceptional skill and determination.
Distinguished Jury Panel for Credible Assessment
The selection of winners will be overseen by a distinguished jury comprising some of India's most celebrated sporting icons. This expert panel includes Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, hockey great PR Sreejesh, former India cricket captain Mithali Raj, Paralympic legend Devendra Jhajharia, table tennis stalwart Sharath Kamal, and tennis icon Leander Paes. Their collective expertise ensures a credible and thorough assessment of excellence in Indian sport, guaranteeing that the awards reflect true merit and achievement.
Nominees for Sportsperson of the Year Reflect Diversity and Success
The nominees for the highly anticipated Sportsperson of the Year category exemplify the diversity and success of Indian sport in 2025. This list includes teenage shooting sensation Suruchi Inder Singh, who enjoyed a breakthrough season with five gold medals across ISSF World Cup stages and a silver at the World Championships. Chess prodigy Divya Deshmukh made history by winning the Women's Chess World Cup and earning the Grandmaster title. In cricket, Smriti Mandhana played a pivotal role in India's maiden ICC Women's Cricket World Cup triumph, while Shubman Gill had a prolific year that included titles in the ICC Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup. Young shooter Samrat Rana also shone on the global stage, becoming world champion in the 10m air pistol, capping off a memorable year for Indian sport.
Detailed Profiles of Sportsperson of the Year Nominees
Suruchi Inder Singh
Date of Birth: April 28, 2006
Place of Birth: Jhajjar, Haryana
Sport: Shooting (10m air pistol)
Major Achievements in 2025: ISSF World Championships: Silver (Team); ISSF World Cup Final: Gold (Individual); ISSF World Cup Buenos Aires: Gold (Individual), Bronze (Mixed Team); ISSF World Cup Lima: Gold (Individual), Gold (Mixed Team); ISSF World Cup Munich: Gold (Individual); Asian Championships: Bronze (Team), Bronze (Mixed Team).
2025 was a breakthrough year for teenage shooter Suruchi Singh. The 19-year-old rose to prominence after winning five gold medals across ISSF World Cup stages. She began with individual gold at the ISSF World Cup in Argentina, where she also claimed mixed team bronze. She followed it up with a double gold at the ISSF World Cup in Peru, winning the individual title and the mixed team gold with Saurabh Chaudhary. Suruchi then secured another individual gold at the ISSF World Cup in Germany before clinching her fifth gold at the ISSF World Cup Final in Doha. She also added a team silver at the ISSF World Championships and won two bronze medals at the Asian Championships, completing a remarkable season.
Divya Deshmukh
Date of Birth: December 9, 2005
Place of Birth: Nagpur, Maharashtra
Sport: Chess
Major Achievements in 2025: Women's Chess World Cup: Winner; Grandmaster (GM) title; Qualified for the 2026 Women's Candidates Tournament.
Born on December 9, 2005, in Nagpur, Maharashtra, Divya Deshmukh has rapidly established herself as one of India's brightest chess talents. Known for her sharp calculation, strategic depth, and composure under pressure, Divya has consistently impressed on the international stage, combining tactical brilliance with a strong competitive mindset.
The year 2025 proved historic for her career. She won the Women's Chess World Cup, defeating top contenders and announcing herself as a major force in global women's chess. This landmark victory also earned her the prestigious Grandmaster (GM) title, making her India's 88th Grandmaster and the fourth Indian woman to achieve this feat. Additionally, her performances secured her qualification for the 2026 Women's Candidates Tournament, bringing her a step closer to challenging for the Women's World Championship.
With her talent, dedication, and early success, Divya Deshmukh is widely regarded as a future star in Indian and international chess, inspiring a new generation of players.
Smriti Mandhana
Date of Birth: July 18, 1996
Place of Birth: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Sport: Cricket
Major Achievements in 2025: ICC ODI World Cup 2025: Winner as vice-captain of Team India; ODI stats in 2025: 1362 runs in 23 matches | Ave. 61.9 | SR 109.92 | 5 hundreds; T20I stats in 2025: 341 runs in 9 matches | Ave. 37.88 | SR 135.85 | 1 hundred.
In 2025, Smriti Mandhana played a defining role in Indian women's cricket history as vice-captain of the side that lifted the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup title — India's first-ever triumph in the tournament. India defeated South Africa by 52 runs in the final at the DY Patil Stadium on November 2, capping off a memorable campaign. Mandhana was central to the victory, scoring 434 runs in the tournament to finish as the second-highest run-getter. During the event, she smashed a breathtaking 50-ball hundred against England — the second-fastest century in women's international cricket. Over the calendar year, she became the first woman to score more than 1,000 ODI runs in a single year and broke her own record for most ODI centuries in a year, hitting five in 2025 — joint-most alongside Tazmin Brits.
Mandhana also reached significant career milestones across formats. In December, during a home series against Sri Lanka, she became only the second woman after Suzie Bates to cross 4,000 runs in T20 Internationals. In the same series, she went past 10,000 runs in women's international cricket, becoming just the second Indian after Mithali Raj and the fourth batter overall to achieve the landmark — further cementing her legacy as one of the modern greats of the game.
Samrat Rana
Date of Birth: January 8, 2005
Place of Birth: Karnal, Haryana
Sport: Shooting (10m Air Pistol)
Major Achievements in 2025: ISSF World Championships: Gold (Individual), Gold (Team) & Silver (Mixed Team); ISSF World Cup Final: Bronze (Individual).
Young Samrat Rana created history last year by becoming the first world champion from India in his event, the 10m Air Pistol, marking a defining breakthrough in his career. The former junior world champion delivered a sensational performance at the ISSF World Championships 2025, where he emerged as one of the biggest stars of the tournament with a haul of three medals. Rana clinched the gold medal in the individual event and followed it up with another gold in the team competition. He also secured a silver medal in the mixed team event alongside Esha Singh.
With this outstanding performance, Rana became only the third Indian shooting world champion, joining the elite list that includes Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra and world champion Rudrankksh Patil. The 21-year-old continued to shine later in the season, adding a bronze medal at the Doha World Cup Final, ensuring that the year would go down as one of the most memorable and significant phases of his rapidly progressing shooting journey.
Shubman Gill
Date of Birth: September 8, 1999
Place of Birth: Fazilka, Punjab
Sport: Cricket
Major Achievements in 2025: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Winners; ACC Asia Cup: Winners; Test stats in 2025: 983 runs in 9 matches | Ave. 70.21 | HS 269 | 5 hundreds; ODI stats in 2025: 490 runs in 11 matches | Ave. 49.00 | SR 88.76 | 2 hundreds; T20I stats in 2025: 291 runs in 15 matches | Ave. 24.25 | SR 137.26 | HS 47.
Shubman Gill enjoyed a phenomenal 2025, cementing his status as one of world cricket's premier batters. He won two ICC Men's Player of the Month honours during the year, becoming the first male cricketer to claim the accolade four times in total. Entering the ICC Champions Trophy as the top-ranked ODI batter, Gill struck an unbeaten 101 against Bangladesh in the group stage, setting the tone for India's title-winning campaign. He also served as deputy to Suryakumar Yadav in the 2025 Asia Cup (T20), where India lifted the trophy after defeating Pakistan in the final.
In Tests, Gill ushered in a new era as captain following the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He marked his leadership debut with a century at Headingley, joining the elite list of Indian captains to score a hundred in their first Test in charge. He followed it up with successive centuries at Edgbaston, including a monumental 269 — the highest Test score by an Indian captain — and 161 in the same match, amassing 430 runs, the second-highest aggregate in a Test after Graham Gooch. Gill also became only the third Indian captain to score five Test centuries in a calendar year, emulating Kohli's rare feat.
The Times of India Sports Awards 2026 promises to be a spectacular celebration of India's sporting legends, bringing together the best of athletic talent in a night of recognition and inspiration.
