CNN-News18 to recognise top sportspersons at Indian of the Year 2022

Be it the boxing ring, or the race to the finish line, India has always had a stronghold in global sports tournaments. CNN-News18, India’s No.1 English General News channel, salutes that spirit of great sportspersons with the 12^th edition of its flagship awards ceremony, CNN-News 18 Indian of the Year (IOTY) 2022. To be held on 12 October, the awards ceremony will felicitate the achievements of those Indians who, through their grit and determination, have brought pride to the country. The marquee property felicitates personalities across the categories of politics, sports, social change, entertainment, start-ups, and climate warrior.

Starting the nomination list in sports this year is Olympic champion and track and field athlete Neeraj Chopra. After the high of an Olympics gold, the man from Panipat continues to write many more firsts for Indian athletes, including being the first Indian ever to win a silver at the World Championships in July 2022. Former Junior World Number 1 Lakshya Sen, the new poster boy of Indian badminton has been in stellar form through late 2021-2022, during which he won a Bronze at the World Championships, made it to the final of All England Open, and also clinched a Gold at CWG 2022. Boxer Nikhat Zareen who was crowned the world flyweight champion after winning the gold at the 2022 World Boxing Championships, claims one of the nomination spots. She has truly emerged from the shadows of her more illustrious seniors in 2022.

The nominations also feature talent from the indoor arena. Table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal has achieved new highs in 2022 through his best-ever CWG performance, winning 3 golds and a silver including the men’s singles title. Finally, the fifth youngest Chess grandmaster and chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa features on this illustrious nominees list, who, at the age of 16, became the youngest to defeat current world champion, Magnus Carlsen, in February 2022, and then went on to defeat him thrice in six months.

CNN-News18 has been setting the precedent of honouring top sportspersons of the country through this flagship initiative. Past winners in the sports category include names like Viswanathan Anand, Sania Mirza, PV Sindhu, MS Dhoni, Saina Nehwal, and Abhinav Bindra to name a few. Now all eyes are on who will be awarded as the top sportsperson at the Indian of the Year 2022.

The winner will be revealed at the grand finale that will witness a confluence of ace sports personalities with Indian of the Year 2022, on Wednesday, 12 October 2022, 6pm onwards, exclusively on CNN-News18.

CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2022 has RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group as the Presenting Partner and Reliance Industries as the Co-Presenting Partner.

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