LUCKNOW: In a glittering ceremony held in Lucknow on Friday, the Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA) 2023, powered by Government of Uttar Pradesh, celebrated the stellar performances and achievements of Indian athletes across various disciplines. From historic victories to emerging talents, the event showcased the nation's rich sporting tapestry.
Neeraj Chopra, the reigning world champion in men's javelin throw, emerged as the night's big winner, clinching both the 'Sportsperson of the Year' and 'Athlete of the Year' awards for his remarkable triumphs at the Budapest World Athletics Championships and the
Asian Games.
TOISA 2023: As it happened
In the para-sports category, Sumit Antil and
Sheetal Devi were jointly honored as the 'Para Sportsperson of the Year' for their exceptional feats in javelin throw and para-archery respectively. Their achievements, including Antil's historic gold at the Para World Athletics Championships and Devi's groundbreaking performances at the Para World Archery Championships and Asian Games, earned them widespread acclaim.
Legendary track and field athlete PT Usha was bestowed with the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' in recognition of her illustrious career, which saw her dominate the track with four gold and seven silver medals at the Asian Games.
Archers Ojas Deotale and Jyothi Surekha were named 'Archer of the Year' in the male and female categories respectively, while Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi were honored as the 'Para Archer of the Year.'
Badminton stalwarts Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, HS Prannoy, PV Sidhu, and others received accolades for their outstanding contributions to the sport. Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy were named 'Doubles Players of the Year,' while HS Prannoy claimed the 'Singles Player of the Year' award. In the female category, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly were honored as 'Doubles Players of the Year', while PV Sindhu bagged 'Singles Player of the Year'.
Cricketing prowess was also recognized, with Mohammed Shami and Deepti Sharma earning the titles of 'Cricketer of the Year' in the male and female categories respectively.
In chess, siblings R Praggnanandhaa and R Vaishali made history by winning the 'Chess Player of the Year' awards in their respective categories.
The Indian men's 4x400m relay team, which shattered the Asian record at the World Athletics Championships and secured gold at the Asian Games, was named the 'Team of the Year.'
Para-sports received significant attention with ten award categories, including recognition for shooters Avani Lekhara and Rudransh Khandelwal, and Bhavinaben Patel was named the 'Para-Table Tennis Player of the Year.'
The event also honored emerging talents, with archer Aditi Gopichand Swami and shooter Esha Singh sharing the 'Emerging Sportsperson of the Year' award.
The TOISA 2023 ceremony underscored the depth of talent and the spirit of excellence that permeates Indian sports, setting the stage for continued success and achievements on the global stage.
Here is the full list of award winners for TOISA 2023 (Merchandise partner: Yonex Sunrise || Associate partner: Truefitt & Hill):
SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR: Neeraj Chopra
PARA SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR: Sumit Antil & Sheetal Devi
TEAM OF THE YEAR: Indian Men's 4x400m relay team (Amoj Jacob, Mijo Chacko, Mohd. Anas, Mohd. Ajmal, Nihal Joel, Rajesh Ramesh)
COACH OF THE YEAR: Deepali Deshpande
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: PT Usha
ARCHER OF THE YEAR (Male): Ojas Pravin Deotale
ARCHER OF THE YEAR (Female): Jyoti Surekha Vennam
PARA ARCHER OF THE YEAR (Male): Rakesh Kumar
PARA ARCHER OF THE YEAR (Female): Sheetal Devi
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR (Male): Neeraj Chopra
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR (Female): Parul Chaudhary
PARA ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Sachin Khilari
BADMINTON PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Male - Singles): HS Prannoy
BADMINTON PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Female - Singles): PV Sindhu
BADMINTON PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Male - Doubles): Chirag Shetty & Satwiksairaj Rankireddy
BADMINTON PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Female - Doubles): Gayatri Gopichand & Treesa Jolly
PARA BADMINTON PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Male): Nitesh Kumar
PARA BADMINTON PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Female): Murugesan Thulasimathi
BILLIARDS/SNOOKER PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Pankaj Advani
BOXER OF THE YEAR (Male): Mohammad Hussamuddin
BOXER OF THE YEAR (Female): Lovlina Borgohain
CHESS PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Male): R Praggnanandhaa
CHESS PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Female): R Vaishali
PARA CHESS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Darpan Inani
CRICKETER OF THE YEAR (Male): Mohammed Shami
CRICKETER OF THE YEAR (Female): Deepti Sharma
EQUESTRIAN RIDER OF THE YEAR: Anush Agarwalla/Hriday Chheda/Divyakriti Singh/Sudipti Hajela
FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR (Male): Sunil Chhetri
FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR (Female): Anju Tamang
HOCKEY PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Male): Hardik Singh
HOCKEY PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Female): Salima Tete
KABBADI PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Male): Pawan Sehrawat
KABBADI PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Female): Ritu Negi
PARA CANOEIST OF THE YEAR: Prachi Yadav
PARA JUDOKA OF THE YEAR: Kapil Parmar
PARA POWERLIFTER OF THE YEAR: Zainab Khatoon
ROWER OF THE YEAR: Ashish Kumar / Bheem Singh / Jaswinder Singh / Punit Kumar
SAILOR OF THE YEAR: Neha Thakur
SHOOTER OF THE YEAR (Male): Rudrankksh Patil
SHOOTER OF THE YEAR (Female): Sift Kaur Samra
PARA SHOOTER OF THE YEAR (Male): Rudransh Khandelwal
PARA SHOOTER OF THE YEAR (Female): Avani Lekhara
SQUASH PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Male): Saurav Ghosal
SQUASH PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Female): Dipika Pallikal
TABLE TENNIS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ayhika Mukherjee & Sutirtha Mukherjee
PARA TABLE TENNIS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Bhavinaben Patel
TENNIS PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Male): Rohan Bopanna
TENNIS PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Female): Rutuja Bhosale
WRESTLER OF THE YEAR (Male): Sunil Kumar
WRESTLER OF THE YEAR (Female): Antim Panghal
EMERGING SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR: Aditi Gopichand Swami & Esha Singh
FEDERATION OF THE YEAR: Shooting
CHANGEMAKER OF THE YEAR: Uttar Pradesh
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