Indian Women in Sports – Highlights of 2025

Indian Women in Sports – Highlights of 2025
© Asim Deb, 1977 Electronics & Tele-Communication Engineering.

Indian women had an intense and exciting year in sports in 2025. Specially, I would like to mention of our women’s cricket team, that they have marked our name very brightly in the history book by winning multiple World Cup tournaments,

I would first mention about India women’s blind cricket team becoming unbeaten champion of the inaugural ICC Women’s T20 World Cup for the Blind, lifting the trophy after a dominant tournament run. The Indian women became World champion in November 2025, defeating Nepal by 7 wickets in the final at Colombo (Nepal 114/5, India 115/3 in 12.1 overs). Led by the Captain Deepika TC, the team remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. The team paired fearless batting with disciplined bowling and sharp fielding throughout the competition. Phula Saren (Player of the Match in the final with 44 runs). Her 44 off just 27 balls guided India to victory, completing a flawless, unbeaten campaign. The victory, which came weeks after India won its first Women’s ODI World Cup is expected to provide a fillip to sportspersons with disabilities in the country. “Some victories remind us that no challenge is ever too big when talent refuses to be limited,” Mithali Raj, former captain of the India women’s cricket team, wrote in a post on X.

The tournament featured six teams – India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia and the US – in a single round-robin. India and Sri Lanka co-hosted the event, with fixtures in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Colombo. Our title win strengthened the case for inclusive sport and wider recognition. The Reliance Foundation announced a ₹5 crore reward for the team.

Blind cricket uses a plastic ball with metal bearings that jingle, and players are grouped by sight: B1 (fully blind), B2 and B3. Teams must field a mix of all three. The ball is bowled underarm along the ground. B1 batters use runners for safety, and each run they score counts as two. Eleven players make up a blind cricket team and is played with a white plastic ball packed with ball bearings that rattle as it rolls, which allows it to be heard by players.

Sheetal Devi Claimed the Para-Archery World Title.
Eighteen-year-old para-archer Sheetal Devi made history at the 2025 World Para Archery Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, by becoming the first female armless archer to win a world title. She secured gold in the women’s compound open event, defeating reigning champion Oznur Cure Girdi 146-143 of Türkiye, 146–143, on the stage at 5.18 Democracy Square.
Her medal tally:
Gold Medal: Compound Women’s Individual Open.
Silver Medal: Compound Women’s Team.
Bronze Medal: Compound Mixed Team.
Performance: Defeated world number one and Paralympic champion Oznur Cure Girdi in the final.
She finished the championship as a three-time medalist (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze).
“I had a dream I would become world champion,” said Devi. “It made me want to work. I worked and worked and today I’ve got such a good result.”

For Sheetal Devi, the bow asked for patience before it delivered promise. In 2025, that discipline led to a world title at the World Archery Para Championships.
Later in the year, she crossed another milestone when she was selected for India’s able-bodied compound team for the Asia Cup, becoming the first para-archer to be included at that level. Her journey expanded how excellence and ability are understood in Indian sport.
Sheetal, the ‘armless archer’ is one of the iconic names in world archery, because of her unique action using her legs to shoot the arrow and the success she has had with this technique. Already a medalist at the biggest stages — the Paralympics, World Championships and the Asian Games — she became the first armless woman to become para world champion, this year.

India Won the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup.
India won the 2025 ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup by defeating South Africa by nine wickets in the final on February 2, 2025, at the Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, securing our second consecutive title. With Captain Niki Prasad, the team went undefeated, bowling out South Africa for 82 in the final before chasing it down in 11.2 overs. South Africa 82/10 (20 overs) vs. India 83/1 (11.2 overs). Gongadi Trisha was the Player of the Match for her 3/15 and unbeaten 44 runs. Trisha, who finished as the tournament’s top run-scorer, took three for 15 to help bowl South Africa out for 82.

India’s newly-crowned ICC Women’s T20 U19 World Cup winners already have their sights set on winning more titles.

India Wins the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025
For years, the Indian women’s cricket team carried belief alongside heartbreak. In Navi Mumbai, that journey came full circle, facing South Africa in the World Cup final, and India won by 52 runs to claim our maiden title, the historic achievement as India won its first-ever Women’s Cricket World Cup, beating South Africa by 52 runs.

The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 stands as a watershed moment in Indian women’s cricket, marking the nation’s maiden World Cup triumph, following losses in the 2005 and 2017 finals. Hosted in India and the final held at the Dr. DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on November 2, 2025, India’s women’s team overcame South Africa in a thrilling final by 52 runs. Led by Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian team delivered an exceptional performance, with Deepti Sharma emerging as the match-winning bowler, taking an outstanding 5/39, in a brilliant performance. She was the standout performer, taking 39 wickets and contributing with the bat throughout the tournament.

A two-hour rain delay in the final did little to dampen the spirits of the enthusiastic crowd. Shafali Verma hit the first boundary of the innings and followed that with a cover drive off Marizanne Kapp. Smriti Mandhana backed up her partner with a flurry of fours and took the score past 50 with an imperious flick in the seventh over. A beautifully timed six from Shafali Verma negated the pressure being built by Nonkululeko Mlaba and Nadine De Klerk, as the openers took their stand past 100. However, two balls later Mandhana was gone, excellently caught for 45 by Sinalo Jafta behind the stumps after trying to cut Chloe Tryon. Verma reached her first ODI half century in three years from 49 balls soon after but was given a life when on 56 after she was dropped by Anneke Bosch at deep mid-wicket. That error cost 31 runs as Verma eventually fell for a 78-ball 87 to Ayabonga Khaka, ending her 62-run partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues, before the same bowler then picked up India’s number three for 24 thanks to Wolvaardt’s excellent low catch. The dismissals of Harmanpreet Kaur (20) and and Amanjot Kaur (12), to Nonkululeko Mlaba and De Klerk respectively, kept the game in the balance with the score 245 for five in the 44th over. Deepti Sharma batted well to reach her 18th ODI fifty but had to ride her luck on more than one occasion after being put down by both Kapp and Wolvaardt. Richa Ghosh clubbed 34 from 24 balls to help India finish strongly but she became Khaka’s third scalp and Sharma was run out for 58 as South Africa kept their victory target below 300. India’s disciplined bowling restricted South Africa to 246 all out. This historic victory culminated India’s long journey spanning three World Cup finals, finally breaking through to claim the sport’s ultimate prize.
The BCCI announced a 51 crore cash reward for the team.

Divya Deshmukh Winning the FIDE Women’s World Cup
The 2025 FIDE Women’s World Cup was a 107-player single-elimination tournament held in Georgia. On July 28, 2025, our 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh made history as the first Indian woman to win the title in Batumi, Georgia, defeating veteran Koneru Humpy in the final. After drawing the classical games, Divya defeated Humpy in the rapid tie-breaks (2.5 – 1.5). This victory earned her the Grandmaster title, making her India’s fourth woman GM, and secured her qualification for the 2026 Candidates Tournament. Divya Deshmukh follows in the footsteps of previous winners Alexandra Kosteniuk and Aleksandra Goryachkina, thus becoming the third-ever winner of this title. A victory at her age of 19 signifies a major leap in her career, having already won team and individual gold at the previous Chess Olympiad.

Earlier in the semi-finals, the stage was set for a thrilling showdown between India and China. The first games of the two-game matches were played — and both encounters ended in hard-fought draws, leaving everything to be decided in next day’s second games. Humpy Koneru surprised Lei Tingjie in the opening, prompting the Chinese Grandmaster to steer the game toward safer territory. It was a tense, strategic battle with both players feeling the pressure. “It was quite a tough game, not easy at all,” said Humpy in her post-game interview. “At some points I felt I was OK, but then I thought it was a bit dubious. I really don’t know what was going on.”

Reflecting on this, Divya shared: “I still need time to process it. I think it was fate, me getting the Grandmaster title this way, because before this I didn’t even have one norm, and now I’m a Grandmaster.” Also she said, “I definitely need to learn endgames,” Divya admitted candidly after the win. “I’m pretty sure I messed up the ending at some point.”

India Wins the Kho Kho World Cup 2025.
It was the inaugural edition of the World Kho Kho Tournament, backed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), and featured 19 women’s teams.
The Kho Kho World Cup 2025 was held in New Delhi with India claiming both the men’s and women’s titles after beating Nepal in both finals at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. Sanju Devi was adjudged the Most Valuable Player of the Women’s Kabaddi World Cup 2025.

Today, Kho Kho is not just another game—it is a catalyst that has transformed the lives of thousands of players specially from rural areas. Apart from government job opportunities, the sport has brought recognition and fame to many athletes, inspiring the youth to take it up with renewed passion.

The Indian Women’s Ice Hockey Wins the First-ever Bronze Medal at the 2025 IIHF Women’s Asia & Oceania Championship.

The Indian women’s ice hockey team achieved a milestone by winning the first-ever bronze medal at the 2025 IIHF Women’s Asia & Oceania Championship in Al-Ain, UAE, defeating Thailand 3–1 in the playoff. Their podium finish stood for resilience and belief, inspiring girls in the remotest regions to imagine themselves in the game. The team consisted of players from Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), with practices and training on frozen lakes and makeshift rinks in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. It’s a major breakthrough for such sport in India, overcoming lack of infrastructure and resources to compete internationally. Captain Tsewang Chuskit recalls early taunts: “Some uncles asked, ‘What are you doing playing with the boys? This isn’t a girl’s game.”

While a majority of people are still unaware of existence of ice hockey in India, these girls from all remote places were all set to create history as they fly to China to participate in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Challenge Cup of Asia – their first international competition. “This is the first time we will represent our country,” said Rinchen Dolma, the 26-year-old captain of India’s first women ice hockey team. She returned to the game just five months after giving birth. Facing taunts like “You’re a mother now, go home,” she stormed the rink, scored a goal, and made a defiant statement: “I’ll come here with my baby, and I’ll show you what scoring a goal really means.”

For forward Diskit C Angmo, the journey began by simply watching her brother play. “I didn’t know girls could even play hockey,” she said. “It became more important to prove the world wrong than to prove myself right,” said Diskit Angmo.
Assistant coach Ali Amir reflected: “‘You’re a girl, you’ll get married, go to someone else’s house — what will you play?’” But the players pushed past the doubters to earn India a proud moment on the world stage. 
So, they faced skepticism and open taunts “go home, be mothers”. However, they answered on the ice. Their journey — marked by struggle, stereotypes, and sheer grit — has now become a beacon of inspiration for athletes across the nation and has been beautifully captured in the form of a powerful four-minute film titled Sound of Courage by Pocket FM, the world’s largest audio series platform.
Watch their beautiful journey captured in the form of a powerful four-minute film titled Sound of Courage.

Ref:
** https://www.olympics.com/en/news/sporting-achievements-india-2025
** https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/history-made-as-india-claim-inaugural-blind-women-s-t20-world-cup
** https://www.bcci.tv/articles/2025/news/55556184/dominant-india-lift-second-consecutive-icc-u19-women-s-t20-world-cup-title
** https://www.worldarchery.sport/news/202173/sheetal-devi-wins-compound-world-title-india-doubles
** https://www.fide.com/divya-deshmukh-becomes-third-womens-world-cup-champion-defeats-humpy-koneru-in-tiebreak/
** https://www.thehindu.com/sport/sports-review-2025-looking-back-at-a-fascinating-year/article70383030.ece
** https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn81jqydn58o
** https://www.espn.in/olympics/story/_/id/43289570/calendar-2025-schedule-indian-sports-world-championships-cricket-world-cups-hockey-asia-cup-more

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