CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2023: R Praggnanandhaa Wins Rising Sportstar Award

A young Indian chess phenom’s list of achievements continues to grow, with Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanadhaa bagging himself the Rising Sportstar of the Year award at the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2023 Awards ceremony on Wednesday.

Due to his tight schedule and with preparations underway for the upcoming World Championship, Praggnanadhaa was not physically present at the ceremony to claim the award, but CNN-News18 made the journey to Chennai, along with legendary Indian chess grandmaster and five-time World Chess Champion Vishwanathan Anand to present the award to Praggnanandhaa.

“I am very happy to win this prestigious award, I want to thank CNN News-18 for presenting this award to me. I also want to thank (Vishwanathan) Anand sir for giving me this award and I want to take this opportunity to also thank the whole team for making the travel to present this award to me. Unfortunately, I could not be present there to receive this as I have to travel for another tournament. But, thank you once again to News18 for this honor,” said Praggnanadhaa, who could not be present at the ceremony to receive his honour.

Other nominees for the 2023 award were wrestler Antim Panghal, hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, and cricketers Shafali Verma and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

It was a monumental year for Indian chess and at the forefront was Praggnanandhaa, who become the youngest-ever World Cup finalist, and qualified for the Candidates Tournament, being the second Indian to do so, after Viswanathan Anand.

In 2016, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest International Master at the age of 10 years. He also became the youngest player to defeat current world champion Magnus Carlsen in February 2022 at the age of 16; he then went on to defeat him thrice in six months.

Currently in its 13th edition, CNN-News18 Indian of the Year is an initiative that recognises Indians who have made significant contributions to various fields and have had a profound impact on the nation. Since its inception in 2006, CNN-News18 Indian of the Year has firmly positioned itself as the biggest awards in the world of news television, celebrated for its unassailable credibility.

Over the years, the Indian of the Year award recipients have included personalities such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, cricket star Virat Kohli, the Indian women’s cricket team, NGO Stop Acid Attacks, Chess Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand, music legend AR Rahman, former PM Manmohan Singh, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, star boxer MC Mary Kom, actress Deepika Padukone and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, among others.