15 Indian women players who made headlines at the end of 2025

The year 2025, has not been preserved in the history of sports as just a win or a loss as it has set an example of valuing performance rather than breaking the traditional norms. Thus, both men and women in the field of sports have given their own great performance but Indian women have established their identity in various fields of sports and they have proved their talent at the global level. This list mentions only 15 of the hundreds of Indian women athletes, who are constantly overcoming obstacles and hardships in a male-dominated field so that future generations can dream of the sport as a career. Here's a look at 15 Indian women who will make headlines and win the nation's heart in 2025:
Jasmine Lamboria: India topped the medals tally at the World Boxing Championships held in Liverpool in October 2025, where Jasmine Lamboria became the world champion. The success was not hers alone, however, as she was joined by gold medalist Meenakshi Hooda, silver medalist Nupur Shevran and bronze medalist Pooja Rani. The first female boxer from the Indian Army and a gold medalist at both the World Cup and World Championships, Naik Subedar Jasmin Lamboria, under 25, represented India in the women's 57 kg category at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She represents India and the Indian Army and won the Boxing Cup Finals in Astana earlier this year in the 57kg (featherweight) category. She has also previously won a bronze medal in the 60 kg (lightweight) category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Jyothi Sreekha Venam: Winning India's first medal in an Archery World Cup final, Jyothi Sreekha Venam became the first Indian woman to win a bronze medal in compound archery by defeating the world No. 2 at the competition in Nanjing. Earlier she was knocked out in the preliminary round, but this time her determination and courage made her the first Indian woman to win a medal in the season-ending final. Jyothi, the 2017 Arjuna Award winner, is one of India's most decorated athletes. He has nine World Archery Championship medals to his name, including India's first world title in the team event in 2023. Apart from this, he won multiple gold medals and set two world records in the 2022 Asian Games. At the World Cup in Madrid, she teamed up with Rishabh Yadav to create a new world record in the mixed team event, while in 2023 she equaled the world record of 713 points in the women's individual compound qualification.
Pooja aka Pooja Ulla: Pooja had a stellar year by winning double gold medals in the 1500m and 800m events at the Taiwan Athletics Open 2025. Earlier in the same year at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships held in Gumi, South Korea, she had won silver and bronze medals in the same categories, but this time she improved her performance even more. This is her second double gold after the National Inter-State Championship. Pooja is working as a Ticket Collector and Commercial Clerk in South East Central Railway's Bilaspur Division. He was initially inducted as a hockey player.
Jyothi Yaraji: Jyothi Yaraji won India's first historic gold medal in the women's 100m hurdles at the Asian Athletics Championships, successfully defending the title in Gumi, South Korea in May, setting a new championship record of 12.96 seconds. At the national level, he won his third consecutive gold medal in the 100m hurdles held in Uttarakhand. In addition, she was officially awarded the Arjuna Award in recognition of her outstanding achievements in 2024. Although a knee injury ended her 2025 season prematurely in July, she is determined to come back stronger next year.
Nikhat Zarin: Making an impressive comeback from injury, Nikhat Zarin defeated Chinese Taipei's Gu Yixuan in the 51kg category at the World Boxing Cup Finals in November. After a tough season at the 2024 Paris Olympics, he put on a strong performance in 2025, winning both the semi-finals and final by unanimous decision. Now she prepares and hopes for Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
Anu Rani: Finishing in the top 15 with a season best throw of 62.59 metres, Anu Rani won the gold medal at the International Wieslaw Maniek Memorial held in Szczecin, Poland in August 2025. He then clinched another gold medal at the Indian Open World Athletics Continental Tour bronze meet in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, where his winning throw of 62.01 meters was over 60 meters for the second time in a row. Not stopping there, he also won gold at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Chennai and the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Although she was eliminated in the qualifying round. She still holds India's national record in the women's javelin throw, which she set in 2022 with a personal best throw of 63.82 metres.
Aishwarya Pisay: Motor sports athlete Aishwarya Pisay completed the grueling Rallye du Maroc during the FIM World Rally Red Championship in September 2025 to clinch a silver medal in the Rally 2 Women's category. Since winning the Bajas World Cup in 2019, she has continued to make history and became the first Asian woman to win the BP Ultimate Rally Red Portugal. She now has her sights set on the Dakar Rally 2027, where she is determined to participate and become the first Indian woman to complete the event on two wheels.
Divya Deshmukh: Two Indian women battled for the world title in the third edition of the Women's Chess World Cup held in Batumi, Georgia. Konro Hampi and Divya Deshmukh fought hard for three days and after several tie-breaks, the final score was 2.5-1.5, with Divya Deshmukh emerging as the winner. 107 players from around the world participated in this single-elimination tournament, and Divya became the first Indian woman to win the title of FIDE World Chess Champion, while also becoming only the country's fourth woman Grandmaster. A total of three gold medals have been won. Her notable honors include 2024 Women's World Under-20 Chess Champion, 2023 Asian Women's Champion and 2022 National Women's Chess Champion.
R. Vaishali: The streak of Indian success in women's chess continued when R. Vaishali won the Fide Women's Grand Swiss tournament for the second time in September. Earlier, she has also received this honor in 2023. The famous Grand Master R. Praganananda is the elder sister, and the two became the first sibling pair in the world to hold the title of Grandmaster together. They also excelled at the junior level, where they went undefeated at the 2012 Girls' Under-12 World Youth Chess Championship and the 2015 Girls' Under-14 World Title.
Diana Pundule: Creating a new history in the world of motor sports, Diana Pundule is set to become the first Indian woman to compete in the International Racing Championship Ferraris after winning the National Car Racing Championship in the MRF Saloons category in 2024. As it is a gender neutral tournament, she will now represent India in the Ferrari Club Challenge and drive a Ferrari 296 Challenge car at various F1 tracks in the Middle East. A former school teacher with an MA in English Literature and a mother of two, Diana has single-handedly set a new example by breaking many stereotypes associated with women, the workplace and sports.
Dimple Rawat: Dimple Rawat, a firefighter from Uttarakhand, won a bronze medal in the World Police and Fire Games held in Birmingham, USA. She also bagged silver and bronze medals in several other team events, while at the national level she finished first in the 5000m race at the 3rd All India Fire Service Games 2025 in New Delhi. She was joined by Madhuri Bhandari and Pinky Rawat in the team events. Through these achievements, Dimple Rawat has made it possible for women across the country to challenge professions that are generally considered to be disreputable or taboo for women.
Anupama Ramachandran: Anupama Ramachandran won the title of the prestigious 15-round format of the IBSF World Snooker Championship 2025 in Doha in November 2025 by beating Hong Kong's three-time world champion Eng On Yee 3-2 in a thriller. With this victory, she became the first Indian woman to win the title, but her list of achievements is long. She is the first climber to win all six titles at the Tamil Nadu State Ranking Championships and has also won eight National Junior titles. At the age of 15, he won his first international gold medal at the IBSF Under-16 World Championships in 2017. Also won the World Women's Under-21 title in 2021, the World Women's Snooker World Cup in 2023 and the Asian Snooker Championship in 2024. She is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Public Policy, and has undoubtedly proven her skills in every field.
Sanju Devi: In the Women's Kabaddi World Cup 2025 final held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in November, Sanju Devi was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP) after scoring 16 red points against Chinese Taipei. Her decisive four-point super raid in the final was the moment that changed the course of the match and gave India its second consecutive world title. Sanju Devi is the first woman kabaddi player from Chhattisgarh to represent India at the international level. She is not only a symbol of perseverance but also a staunch advocate of government and corporate support for the talented but underprivileged athletes in India.
Deepti Sharma: A sensational two-month struggle proved its most fruitful as India beat South Africa to win their first ever World Cup title at the ICC Women's World Cup 2025. Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma was adjudged Player of the Tournament, and is now the only Indian player, whether male or female, to score more than 200 runs and take more than 20 wickets in a single World Cup edition. He scored three fifties and also took the most wickets in the tournament. In the final, she set another record by taking five wickets and became the first Indian woman to do so. Now credited as the architect of India's World Cup victory, Deepti Sharma is also the youngest Indian player, either male or female, to take five wickets in ODIs. She holds the world record opening partnership of 320 runs in Women's ODIs with Poonam Rawat in 2017 and was also the most expensive player in the Women's Premier League 2026 auction at Rs 3.2 crore.
Phula Sarin: Phula Sarin, the vice-captain of the Indian women's blind cricket team, was declared the player of the final for playing a brilliant innings of 44 runs in the final match. As an all-rounder (B3 category), he was instrumental in India's seven-wicket victory along with captain Deepika TC. After the death of her mother at a young age and facing severe financial difficulties, this athlete from Odisha is a symbol of courage, perseverance and hope. Phula Sarin has demanded better facilities and support for para-athletes after her success, and has also applied for permanent housing for her family after winning the World Cup. The year ended with another resounding success, when the Indian women's cricket team defeated South Africa in the final of the ICC Women's World Cup (WCC) at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on 2 November 2025.