Indian skipper Virat Kohli and young speedster Jasprit Bumrah were bestowed with Sportsman of the Year at the Sportstar Aces awards function on Thursday. The awards which ran from 1994 to 2003 in their first stint were re-instituted as Sportsstar celebrated its 40th birthday in 2018.
Kohli’s record-breaking performances and leading India first-ever Test series win in Australia made him eligible for this prestigious award.
The Sportstar magazine requested Australian spin legend, Shane Warne, to present the award to Kohli. Warne handed over the award to the Indian skipper and congratulated him for his success.
“Virat is a very inspiring cricketer all around the world. He stands up for what he believes in and speaks his heart. He has got a lot of inbuilt skill and talent which is good competition and the will to complete the job. I congratulate him for this award and wish him more success,” said Warne.
Besides Kohli and Bumrah, Indian women's cricket team opener Smriti Mandhana bagged the Sportswoman of the Year (Cricket) award. Mandhana said the award would motivate her to score some more runs.
In racquet sports, nine-time national championships winner paddler Sharath Kamal won the Sportsman of the Year award. Olympic silver medallist shuttler P V Sindhu and paddler Manika Batra were declared joint winners of Sportswoman of the Year award (a racquet sport).
Badminton legend Prakash Padukone was honoured with the Lifetime achievement award.
Young javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra got the Sportsman of the Year (track and field) award, while athlete Hima Das won the Sportswoman of the Year (track and field) award.