Divya Deshmukh (chess)
A 20-year-old chess prodigy, Divya Deshmukh made historical past final July by turning into the primary Indian – and youngest ever – champion of the Girls’s World Cup. The feat earned her Grandmaster standing. Within the remaining, it was a ‘passing of the baton’ second as Deshmukh defeated Koneru Humpy – the primary Indian girl to change into a Grandmaster.
Born in Nagpur in 2005, Deshmukh began taking part in chess on the age of 5. Two years, she was the nationwide champion within the under-seven age group and in 2017 she took the World Youth Chess Championship title within the women’ under-12 class.
In 2022, she performed a key function in India’s bronze-winning crew on the Chess Olympiad in Chennai. Two years later, she granbbed particular person gold and was additionally a part of the crew that completed high of the rostrum.
Harmanpreet Kaur (cricket)
The captain of the Indian ladies’s cricket crew, Kaur led them to their first Girls’s World Cup title in November. Taking part in on dwelling soil, she led from the entrance with an 88-ball 89 as they chased down a tall goal of 339 within the semi-final towards Australia.
Her innings in one other World Cup semi-final – 171 not out towards the identical opponents in 2017 – is broadly considered one of many best innings in ladies’s cricket.
In 1989, on the day she was born to sports-loving mother and father in Punjab, her father purchased her a T-shirt that learn ‘Good Batting’. She lived as much as the prophecy, turning into a batting mainstay of the India crew since making her debut in 2009.
She featured in Time journal’s 2023 checklist of High 100 Rising Leaders and BBC’s 100 Most Inspiring Girls. In 2017, she was additionally introduced with the Arjuna Award – India’s second highest sports activities recognition.
Smriti Mandhana (cricket)
The vice-captain of India’s ladies’s cricket crew, Mandhana is already making a declare for a spot among the many all-time greats of the game. The 29-year-old left-handed batter has the second-highest variety of centuries in one-day internationals and the third-highest runs amongst present gamers.
Born in Sangli, Mandhana was impressed by her father and brother – each of whom who performed cricket at district stage.
In 2013, whereas taking part in in a zonal under-19 match, she turned the primary Indian girl to attain a double century in a home one-day match. In September final 12 months, she made a 50-ball hundred towards Australia – the quickest ton by an Indian within the format, breaking Virat Kohli’s document.
She has been named the ICC Girls’s Cricketer of the 12 months twice – in 2018 and 2021 – and acquired the celebrated Arjuna Award from the Indian authorities in 2019.
Suruchi Singh (shooter)
Hailing from Haryana, which has a wealthy historical past of manufacturing shooters, Singh got here to prominence in 2024, successful seven gold medals on the Nationwide Capturing Championship.
Lower than a 12 months later, the 19-year-old made her senior worldwide debut – rapidly establishing herself on the worldwide stage. In 2025, she received particular person gold medals within the World Cup sequence held in Buenos Aires, Lima, and Munich – finishing a uncommon treble. In Lima, she secured gold within the blended crew occasion.
On the 2025 Asian Capturing Championship in Kazakhstan, she received a bronze medal within the ladies’s crew occasion alongside Manu Bhaker and Palak Gulia.
In September, she turned the top-ranked feminine shooter within the 10m air pistol class.
Jyothi Yarraji (athletics)
In a rustic the place achievements in monitor and discipline on the elite stage are few and much between, Yarraji turned the primary Indian girl to qualify for the 100m hurdles at an Olympics in Paris.
Overcoming hurdles has by no means been an issue for Yarraji, because the 26-year-old was in a household with restricted means. Her father labored as a safety guard and mom as a home employee.
In 2022, she broke the nationwide document for the 100m hurdles – clocking 13.23 seconds – and has since surpassed that a number of instances. She additionally excelled on the 2022 Nationwide Video games – claiming a number of gold medals throughout dash and hurdle occasions, and earned bronze on the World College Video games and silver on the 2022 Asian Video games.
In 2023, Jyothi received gold on the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships within the 60m hurdles, and silver on the Asian Athletics Championships – cementing her fame as Asia’s high hurdler. She additionally received the 100m hurdles gold medal on the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi.
In 2024, she turned a recipient of the celebrated Arjuna Award.
