The eighth edition of The Times of India Sports Awards will be held in Lucknow on March 21, 2026, recognizing the achievements of India’s best multi-disciplinary athletes during the 2025 sports season. The awards recognize performances in more than 45 categories between January 1 and December 31, 2025, recognizing established stars and emerging talent who have excelled at global and continental events. The honorees will include Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, hockey great PR Sreejesh, former India captain Mithali Raj, Paralympic legend Devendra Jhajharia, table tennis icon Sharath Kamal and tennis superstar Leander Paes Paes) to ensure a credible assessment of excellence in Indian sports.Several high-performing athletes are among the track and field nominees after impressive international seasons. olympic champion Neeraj Chopra At the Doha Diamond League, he broke the 90m mark with a national record of 90.23m to lead the men’s race. Distance runner Gulveer Singh had an exciting year by winning double gold in the 5000m and 10,000m at the Asian Athletics Championships, while sprinter Animesh Kujur set a national record in the 100m. In the women’s category, Parul Chaudhary Jyoti Yaraj, Pooja Singh Rupal Chaudhary has impressed with his award-winning and record-breaking performances in the 2025 season.Here are the nominees for track and field to ISA 2025:Track and Field (Athletics) – MenNeeraj ChopraDate of birth: December 24, 1997Place of birth: Kandla, HaryanaSports: Track and Field (Javelin)Main achievements in 2025:Zurich Diamond League Final: 2nd placeDoha Diamond League: 2nd place (90.23m NR)Paris Conference: First SessionGolden Spike Ostrava: Gold AwardNeeraj Chopra Classic: Gold MedalNeeraj Chopra, one of India’s most decorated athletes, continued his remarkable career in 2025 despite suffering a rare setback at the World Athletics Championships, finishing eighth. The javelin star finished second in Zurich, extending his streak of consecutive top-two finishes in Diamond League finals. He also won the Paris Diamond League and achieved a major milestone in the Doha Diamond League, breaking the 90m barrier for the first time with a national record of 90.23m. Although he finished second behind Julian Weber (91.06m), the performance marked a historic breakthrough. Neeraj added two more gold medals to his season, winning at the Ostrava Golden Spikes and the Neeraj Chopra Classic, India’s first gold-level event named after him, to cap off another impressive year. Animesh KujurDate of birth: June 2, 2003Place of birth: Jashpur, ChhattisgarhSports: Track and Field (100m, 200m)Main achievements in 2025:Gumi Asian Championships: Bronze Medal (200m – 20.32s NR)Universiade: Bronze medal (4x100m)In 2025, Animesh Kujul created history by becoming the first Indian sprinter to qualify for the World Athletics Championships. He set a new national record in the 100m with a time of 10.18 seconds at the Dromia International Sprint and Relay, surpassing Gurindervir Singh’s record of 10.20 seconds. Kujul also performed well in the 200m, running 20.32 seconds in the final of the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea, breaking the national record of 20.40 seconds he had set earlier in the season at the Confederation Cup. He won a creditable bronze medal at the Continental Championships.Gurvir SinghDate of birth: June 1, 1998Place of birth: Atrauli, Uttar PradeshSports events: Track and field (3000m, 5000m, 10,000m)Main achievements in 2025:Gumi Asian Championships: Gold (5000m – 13:24.77 CR), Gold (10,000m)Gulveer Singh has had an exciting 2025 season, setting national records in multiple long distance events (3000m, 5000m and 10,000m). He won the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter gold medals at the Asian Athletics Championships, becoming the defending Asian champion and a dominant player on the mainland stage.Gourville set a new national record in the 3,000 meters at the Gyulai István Memorial with a time of 7:34.49, breaking his previous record of 7:38.26 set at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational earlier this year. He became the first Indian to break the 13-minute mark in the 5000m race, clocking 12 minutes 59.77 seconds at the Boston University Terriers DMR Challenge, a time that also set an Asian 5000m sprint record. He went on to break the record in the 10,000 meters, setting another national benchmark with a time of 27:00.22 in the ten-man event.Sachin YadavDate of birth: October 25, 1999Place of birth: Hekkarda, Uttar PradeshSports: Track and Field (Javelin)Main achievements in 2025:Tokyo World Championships: 4th (86.27m – PB)Gumi Asian Championships: Silver Medal (85.16m)Sachin Yadav had a breakthrough season in 2025, scoring personal bests and excelling on the international stage. At the beginning of this year, he won the gold medal at the National Games, setting a personal best and setting a competition record of 8439m. Yadav then performed well at the Asian Athletics Championships, winning the silver medal with a personal best of 85.16m, just 1.24m behind Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem. He also participated in the first Neeraj Chopra Classic and finished fourth with a best result of 82.33m, just missing the podium. At the World Athletics Championships, Yadav entered the finals with a score of 83.67m in the qualifying round and hit a personal best of 86.27m in the finals, finishing fourth and narrowly missing out on a medal.Track and Field (Athletics) – Women’sParul ChowdhuryDate of birth: April 15, 1995Place of birth: Ikrauta, Uttar PradeshSports: Track and Field (3000m Obstacle Race, 5000m)Main achievements in 2025:Doha Diamond League – 6th place – 9:13.39 NRGumi Asian Championships: Silver (3000m steeplechase – 9:12.46 NR), Silver (5000m)Parul Chaudhary had a phenomenal season in 2025, rewriting the national record in the women’s 3000m steeplechase on more than one occasion on some of the sport’s biggest stages. In one of the most demanding events in athletics, she broke the national record for the first time at the Doha Diamond League, finishing sixth in a world-class meet with a time of 9 minutes, 13.39 seconds. A few weeks later, at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, Parul broke his own record and won the silver medal with a performance of 9 minutes, 12.46 seconds. She rounded off a remarkable continental season with another silver medal in the 5000m, underscoring her versatility and endurance to make 2025 one of the best seasons of her career.Rupal ChowdhuryDate of birth: December 23, 2004Place of birth: Shapur Jainpur, Uttar PradeshSports: Track and Field (400m)Main achievements in 2025:Gumi Asian Championships: Silver (400m), Gold (4x400m), Gold (4x400m Mixed)In 2025, young Rupal Chaudhary had a breakthrough year with a stellar performance at the Asian Athletics Championships. The 21-year-old, who has three medals at the continental championships, including two golds, played a key role in India’s victories in the women’s 4x400m relay and mixed 4x400m relay. On a personal note, she also impressed with a silver medal in the 400m event. Rupal represented India at the World Athletics Relays in the 4x400m mixed relay, further demonstrating her growing stature on the global stage.Jyoti YarajDate of birth: August 28, 1999Place of birth: Visakhapatnam, Andhra PradeshSports: Track and field (100m hurdles)Main achievements in 2025:Gumi Asian Championships: Gold Medal (100m Hurdles – 12.96s CR)Jyothi Yarraji once again proved her authority in the Asian sprint hurdles category in 2025 when she defended her title at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea. The national record holder set a new meet record by winning gold in the women’s 100m hurdles in 12.96 seconds, successfully defending the crown she first won in Bangkok in 2023 (13.09 seconds). She added to her medal tally by winning gold at the Taiwan Athletics Open in Taipei, contributing to India’s strong performance in the event. However, her season was cut short when she injured her knee in training and underwent ACL surgery, ruling her out from competing at the 2025 World Championships and the rest of the year.Pooja SinghDate of birth: February 21, 2007Place of birth: Bosti, HaryanaSports: Track and Field (High Jump)Main achievements in 2025:Gumi Asian Championships: Gold (1.89m PB, NU20R)Pooja Singh announced her arrival on the senior stage in 2025 with a sensational breakout season. The teenage high jumper won gold at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea and became the continental champion with a season’s best of 1.89m. Not only was her victory leap a stunning victory, but she also set a new national record for her own under-20s. With this win, she achieved a rare feat in Indian athletics – becoming the first Indian woman after Bobby Aloysius to win a high jump medal at the Asian Championships. Aloysius had previously won gold in 2000 and silver in 2002, making Pooja’s success in 2025 a landmark moment marking the rise of India’s rising stars in high jump.
