Collective Newsroom has reached a milestone with its first production of the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year (ISWOTY) award.

The company managed and produced the fifth edition of the annual awards which honours India's finest sportswomen.

Olympic shooter Manu Bhaker was named BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year for 2024 at the prestigious awards ceremony hosted by BBC Director-General Tim Davie in Delhi on 17 February 2025.

This year's theme "Champions' Champions" focused on the unsung heroes who support the medal-winning athletes in achieving their dreams.

Celebrating diverse Indian talent

The awards ceremony was a celebration of diverse talent, as it also honoured Indian para-sportswomen for their global achievements. A total of eight awards were given in different categories.

While Manu Bhaker was named BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year after a public vote, her fellow shooter Avani Lekhara was awarded the BBC Para-sportswoman of the Year.

Archer Sheetal Devi, the youngest Indian Paralympic medallist, was named BBC Emerging Player of the Year. Mithali Raj was honoured with the BBC Lifetime Achievement Award for her record 18-year captaincy of the Indian women's cricket team from 2004 to 2022, the longest in international cricket history.

Tania Sachdeva, chess Olympiad gold medallist, and Nasreen Sheikh, the former captain of the Indian women's kho-kho team and Arjuna Awardee, were recognised with the BBC Changemaker Award while Thulasimathi Murugesan, Paralympic silver medal winner, and Preethi Pal, the first Indian to secure a para-athletics medal at the Paralympics and Arjuna Awardee, were the BBC Star Performers of the Year 2024.

What made it special

The ceremony itself, which was broadcast on BBC Indian languages platforms, BBC News India YouTube in English and covered by the BBC News Television Channel, BBC World Service, Radio4 and BBC Sport, had its moments, many of which stood out.

It began with a special letter from Indian President Droupadi Murmu who appreciated the "extraordinary athletes" and "the entire team of BBC for the praiseworthy initiative".

Then there was Avani Lekhara sharing her parallel interest to pursue a master's degree in law, only to be encouraged by former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on stage.

"From the sports field to becoming a lawyer and a judge, I am sure you are going to win many more medals for the nation… I personally will be delighted if you make that journey as well to become a nationally renowned lawyer, judge and jurist," he told Avani who was live on Zoom.

In another heartwarming gesture, we saw Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth announcing on stage that he wants to "adopt" Sheetal Devi and ensure that she gets all the support she needs.

Attended by the who's who of India

The diversity of people was not only reflected in our athletes but also amongst our guests as thought leaders from sports, law, politics, media, and defence came together to celebrate the achievements of Indian sportswomen.

From the world of sports, we had boxing legend MC Mary Kom, cricketing icon and former captain Mohd Azharuddin, Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik and former Indian hockey captain Pargat Singh.

Legal and governance stalwarts included former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Attorney General R Venkataramani, former Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid, and Chairperson of Minorities Commission Iqbal Singh Lalpura, alongside Federal Junior Minister for Defence Sanjay Seth, former Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot, former cabinet minister Maneka Gandhi and President of Kho-Kho Association Sudhanshu Mittal.

The night also saw the presence of Rajiv Shukla, MP and Vice President Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Kartikeya Sharma, MP and media entrepreneur, along with other notable dignitaries, including the first woman Director-General of the Armed Forces Medical College, Vice Admiral Aarti Sareen.

Widespread media coverage

The event received widespread coverage across leading Indian national dailies, television channels, digital platforms as well as regional media.

Influential English-language outlets like The Economic Times, The Indian Express, and The Hindu highlighted Manu Bhaker's achievement, emphasising her outstanding performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics while other major publications such as India Today, Outlook India and News9 also covered the story in depth.

Meanwhile, Hindi media platforms like Webdunia and Republic Bharat focused on her impact on Indian sports.

National TV and radio networks, including Zee News, NDTV, Times Now, DD News, News18 India, and All India Radio (AIR) that have massive reach across the country have also provided widespread coverage across their digital platforms.

Collective Newsroom-BBC

Collective Newsroom began its relationship with its first client, BBC News, after launching as a new, independent Indian company on 10 April 2024.

It is the BBC's sole provider of content for its six Indian-language websites, social media platforms, and BBC News India's YouTube channel in English.

The six Indian languages are BBC News Hindi, BBC News Gujarati, BBC News Marathi, BBC News Punjabi, BBC News Tamil and BBC News Telugu.