The fifth edition of the prestigious Sportstar Aces Awards was held in Mumbai on Monday, honouring the best and brightest of Indian sports from the year gone by.
From the Indian badminton team’s historic Thomas Cup triumph to a number of individual triumphs at the world level, the night was a star-studded one.
Neeraj Chopra’s consistency at the international level earned him one of the biggest awards of the evening – the Sportstar of the Year honour. Mirabai Chanu’s World Championship silver and Commonwealth Games gold secured the Sportstar of the Year (Female) honour in her favour.
The highlight of the evening was the felicitation of the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian men’s cricket team. 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of the Kapil Dev-led team’s historic feat.
“It has been 40 years since we won, but we still get so much love and affection from everyone. I don’t know how to express my gratitude,” he said.
The other main awardee of the night was Sania Mirza, who was honoured with the Inspirational Icon Award.
“Growing up, like most youngsters, I read Sportstar magazine. I dreamt of being on the cover one day. I put up Sportstar posters of Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and others who have inspired me. It is a true honour for me to be here, and to be a part of the Sportstar family,” Sania said.
A total of 29 honours were given out on the night, including individual and team awards across various sports. Some of the winners included Hardik Pandya and Harmanpreet Kaur for Cricket, Avinash Sable and Annu Rani for Track and Field, the Thomas Cup-winning team won National Team of the Year and Moment of the Year, Rahul Jakhar won Sportsman of the Year (Parasports) while Gujarat Titans was awarded as Club of the Year.
The esteemed jury of the awards is led by former Indian Captain, Sunil Gavaskar and also comprises, MM Somaya, Viswanathan Anand, Aparna Popat, Anjali Bhagwat, Bhaichung Bhutia and Abhinav Bindra.
The Sportstar Aces Awards not only recognize individual and team performance but also the efforts of various organizations, including PSUs, corporates, states, and universities, in promoting sports in the country. A special chairperson’s choice award also honours sports being used to drive community welfare. Indian Oil’s Project Parivartan which uses sports as a tool to help prisoners.
Indian steeplechaser Avinash Sable expressed his gratitude to the Indian Army, SAI, TOPS and his sponsor JSW for supporting him.
“I hadn’t even thought that I could even win a national medal. Winning a medal (silver) at the Commonwealth Games last year gave me confidence that I can win a medal at the world level… I will try to win a medal at the 2024 Olympics for the country,” Sable said.
Sharath Kamal, who won the Sportsman of the Year for Racquet Sports, along with Lakshya Sen, said, “It is a privilege for me to share a space so many of India’s legends, we have grown up, inspired by their feats, reading about them on Sportstar.”
Complete List of 2023 Sportstar Aces Winners:
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR (CRICKET): Hardik Pandya
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR (CRICKET): Harmanpreet Kaur
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR (TRACK AND FIELD): Avinash Sable
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR (TRACK AND FIELD): Annu Rani
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR (TEAM SPORTS): PR Sreejesh and Sunil Chhetri
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR (TEAM SPORTS): Savita Punia
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR (OLYMPIC SPORTS): Rudrankksh Patil
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR (OLYMPIC SPORTS): Nikhat Zareen
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR (RACQUET SPORTS): Lakshya Sen and Sharath Kamal
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR (RACQUET SPORTS): Dipika Pallikal Karthik
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR (PARASPORTS): Rahul Jakhar (Shooting)
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR (PARASPORTS): Manish Ramadass (Badminton)
COACH OF THE YEAR: Bhaskar Bhatt
BEST YOUNG ACHIEVER (BOY): D Gukesh
BEST YOUNG ACHIEVER (GIRL) Rhythm Sangwan and Antim Pangal
BEST PSU FOR THE PROMOTION OF SPORTS: ONGC
BEST CORPORATE FOR THE PROMOTION OF SPORT: JSW
BEST STATE FOR THE PROMOTION OF SPORT: Odisha
BEST University FOR THE PROMOTION OF SPORT: Jain University
BEST GRASSROOTS COACH: Merzban Patel (Hockey)
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR: Vinesh Phogat and Anwar Ali
SPORTSTAR OF THE YEAR (MALE): Neeraj Chopra
SPORTSTAR OF THE YEAR (FEMALE): Mirabai Chanu
NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR: Thomas Cup-winning team
CLUB OF THE YEAR: Gujarat Titans
MOMENT OF THE YEAR: India winning Thomas Cup
SPIRIT OF SPORTS: Nihal Sarin
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Shyam Thapa
INSPIRATIONAL ICON: Sania Mirza
