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
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