Mumbai : The seventh edition of
the prestigious Sportstar Aces Awards was held in Mumbai at the Taj Mahal
Palace on Friday with some of the biggest Indian sports personalities coming
together under one roof.
Athletes from an array of sports were honoured for
their outstanding achievements both at the international and national level in
what was a glamorous night for Indian sports. The grand event saw former Indian
Hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh named the Sportstar of the Year (Male) and Paris
Olympics double medallist Manu Bhaker honoured as the Sportstar of the Year
(Female) and Sportswoman of the Year in an Olympic Sport (Female).
The Indian men’s and women’s chess teams, who
created history by winning the Budapest Chess Olympiad last year, jointly won
the National Team of the Year award.
In addition to the Popular Awards, a total of 17
honours were given out on the night, including individual and team awards
across various sports. Some of the winners included Jaspal Rana, who won the
Coach of the Year honour, Swapnil Kusale and Sarabjot Singh who won Sportsman
of the Year (Male, Olympic Sport) and PV Sindhu was awarded the Inspiration
Icon Award.
It was a big night for hockey as legendary players
Gurbux Singh and Mary D'Souza Sequeira were given Lifetime Achievement Awards.
ICC Chair Jay Shah was honoured with the Special
Recognition Game Changer Award for his remarkable rise in the administrative
framework of the game. Shah, who has championed women’s cricket during his time
as BCCI secretary, dedicated the award to all women working hard in their
careers.
Star shooter Manu Bhaker shared her appreciation
upon winning the award and said, “ I'm extremely happy to receive this honour.
This is all thanks to my father and my coach and of course my support staff.
Previously, at the Aces, I had received the Emerging Athlete of the Year award
so I am really honoured to receive such a prestigious award this time. I will
try my best to work even harder in future and win more medals.”
On receiving the award, PR Sreejesh stated, “Thank
you very much for this. It’s a bit hard for me to believe that I'm the chosen
one, but it's a great recognition. I hope this is a great motivation for the
youngsters because when I was a kid, we all dreamt about coming on the cover
page of such an established magazine (Sportstar) so thank you very much for
this.”
P.V. Sindhu too spoke on the rise of women in
sports on the occasion and said, “ A lot of women out there are doing really
well. I can see a lot of potential, especially in my sport (badminton). I
believe there will be a lot of Olympic medalists very soon and I wish everyone
all the best.”
The annual awards are a crucial part of the sports
ecosystem in India and are an important platform for athletes achieving on the
international stage.
The esteemed jury of the awards was chaired by
World Cup-winning cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, Olympic gold medalist M. M.
Somaya, Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, five-time chess world champion
Viswanathan Anand, former world no.1 shooter Anjali Bhagwat and multiple-time
Commonwealth badminton champion Aparna Popat.
List of all awards at Sportstar Aces Awards
2025:
· Sportstar of the Year
(Male) - PR Sreejesh
· Sportstar of the Year
(Female) - Manu Bhaker
· Sportsman of the Year
(Olympic Sports) - Aman Sehrawat, Swapnil Kusale and Sarabjot Singh
· Sportswoman of the
Year (Olympic Sports) - Manu Bhaker
· National Team of the
Year - Indian Chess Men’s and Women’s Teams
· Club/State Team of
the Year - Mumbai Ranji Team
· Coach of the Year -
Jaspal Rana
· Paralympic Gold
Medallists Tribute - Avani Lekhra, Navdeep Singh and Harvinder Singh
· Inspiration Icon
Award - PV Sindhu
· Lifetime Achievement
Awards - Gurbux Singh and Mary D’Souza Sequeira
· Sportswoman of the
Year (Non-Olympic Sport) - Divya Deshmukh
· Sportswoman of the
Year (Para Sport) - Avani Lekhra
· Young Achiever Award
(Male) - Parth Mane
· Young Achiever Award
(Female) - Neha Sangwan
· Special Recognition
Game Changer Award - Jay Shah
· Chairperson’s Choice
(Sports for social good) - Downtown Heroes FC
· Best University for
promotion of Sport - Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology
· Best PSU for
promotion of Sport - Railway Sports Promotion Board
· Best Corporate for
promotion of Sport - Reliance Industries
· Best State for promotion
of Sport - Madhya Pradesh
Moment of the Year: Suryakumar Yadav’s T20 World
Cup final catch