Sportskeeda's Top 10 Indian sportswomen of the year 2017

2017 was a year to remember in Indian sports. From badminton to cricket, from athletics to boxing, India showed its class and promised big things in the coming year. Following the disappointment at the 2016 Rio Olympics, it was always going to be a tough ask for India's athletes to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and get well and truly going yet again. This makes the achievements of 2017 all the more special and brings a smile to each Indian sports fan's face.

At the forefront of this revolution-of-sorts are India's female athletes. Fresh from the euphoria of winning medals at the Olympics, the women have picked up where they left off in 2016 and carried their great work into 2017. After some digging and analysing, Sportskeeda has been successful in showcasing the ten best women athletes from the country in 2017 and are especially proud of their exceptional work this year and sincerely hope they can pull it off next year too. So here are the top 10 best women's athletes from India in 2017:

#10 Bala Ngangom (Football)

Seldom do we hear about women footballers making a massive impact on the world stage, but Bala Ngangom Devi is one of those talented players who has not only proved effective on the field, she has also balanced having a regular job as a policewoman in Manipur.

The striker has been capped 33 times for her country and during that time has scored an incredible 32 goals in her illustrious career, even captaining the Indian team on several occasions. There is no doubt that she is Indian women's football's leading light without a doubt.

#9 Savita Poonia (Hockey)

It is never easy being a goalkeeper in a sport like hockey, but Savita Poonia has shown that nothing is out of reach for her, throwing herself around with ease and protecting the Indian goal at all times.

2017 was especially grateful to Poonia as she was pivotal in India winning the gold medal at the 2017 Women's Hockey Asia Cup, beating the likes of China and South Korea and gaining automatic qualification into the 2018 World Cup to be held in England. Poonia's heroic form turned out to be the key as India conceded the least number of goals throughout the tournament, and brought home the gold.

#8 Heena Sidhu (Shooting)

Shooting has always brought home plaudits for Indian athletes but few have had the impact that Heena Sidhu has in the field of pistol shooting. The ace markswoman has proved herself time and time again on the world stage and 2017 was no different.

The Commonwealth Shooting Championships was the scene in Brisbane where Sidhu performed brilliantly and brought home the gold medal in women's 10m Air Pistol shooting, showing her class yet again and earning herself a valid place on this particular list. She also won silver at the Asian Airgun Championship in the women's team 10m air pistol event, further proving her credentials as one of the top shooters in India.

#7 Mithali Raj (Cricket)

Indian fans are well-versed with India women's cricket captain Mithali Raj and the swashbuckling batswoman has been instrumental in leading her India side to the finals of the World Cup twice, the latest being this year itself.

Mithali led from the front as India shocked the world with their superior performances and found their way in the final. Mithali herself scored a truckload of runs throughout the tournament leading up to the final. India may have fallen short in the end, but the women proved their mettle without a doubt and Mithali Raj has been widely hailed as the true reason for their success.

#6 Jyothi Surekha Vennam (Archery)

At just 21 years of age, Jyothi Surekha Vennam has achieved what sportspersons dream of all their lives. She has bagged 70 medals in her career already and has been recognised as India's next big hope for the Olympics.

Jyothi's claim to fame in 2017 came when she won gold at the Asian Archery Championship in Bangladesh, in the women's individual compound category.

2017 was special for Jyothi as her achievements were recognised by the Indian Government and she received the illustrious Arjuna Award for her outstanding work in Archery. The Vijaywada native was the youngest South Indian ever to achieve this feat and she firmly has her goal set as bringing home an Olympic gold medal soon enough.

#5 Kanchanmala Pande (Swimming)

Kanchanmala Pande has been making waves throughout the world of swimming for a while now and the fact that as a blind swimmer she continues to win big is a huge achievement in itself.

The ace swimmer has competed and won at several para-swimming championships, but her crowning achievement came earlier this month as the Nagpur native made history by winning the gold medal at the World Para-Swimming Championships in Mexico, making her the first Indian to achieve the honour in the nation's history.

This win propels her to the status of the best female para-swimmer in India, and hopes will be high on her shoulders for the future events.

#4 Aditi Ashok (Golf)

Golf has seen its fair share of Indians rise to the top, but it is rare to see a female golfer from India perform big in the lush green golf courses.

Aditi Ashok has well and truly put that myth to bed after stellar performances recently and went on to make 14 cuts in the 21 events that she participated in. Her moment in the limelight this year, came in November, when she won the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open.

At just 19 years of age, the best of Aditi is still in front of us and it will be interesting to see what plaudits she achieves in her promising career.

#3 MC Mary Kom (Boxing)

Having already won an Olympic medal, Mary Kom has not stuttered one bit in her career and she continued her success in the year 2017.

The pocket dynamite boxing star won an unprecedented fifth Asian Boxing World Championship gold medal in the month of November and her dominant performance in the final is indicative of the fact that the North Eastern athlete still has plenty left in the tank. What made her victory even sweeter was the fact that this was her first international gold medal since her triumph at the 2014 Asian Games

With the Commonwealth and Asian Games coming up next year, Mary Kom has already set her sights on Tokyo 2020, and it would be interesting to see this old warhorse box her way through further podium finishes.

#2 Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting)

Indian weightlifting has never been on such a pedestal as it is today and all the credit for this goes to Mirabai Chanu following her landmark victory at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships triumph in the United States.

The last Indian woman to win gold at the World Championship was Karnam Malleswari, who won the events in consecutive years, 1994 and 1995.

The gold medal she won ended a 22-year drought for India and solidified her as a true hero in the weightlifting world. She lifted a record 194 kg total in the 48 kg women's category and showed just why she is the shining star in Indian weightlifting at just 23 years of age.

#1 PV Sindhu (Badminton)

PV Sindhu just had to be top of this list owing to her remarkable achievements in the badminton world. India's silver medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, there is no doubt that she continues to be one of the most impressive young athletes all over the world.

2017 saw her achieve her highest ever BWF World Ranking of number 2 with her ending the year strongly as World Number 3. Her aim remains to gain the numero uno spot in 2018 and with her silver medal performance at the Glasgow World Championships, coupled with wins in the India Open and the Korea Open Superseries events, it is fair to assume that this achievement too is within the reach of India's 'Superwoman'.

Edited by Soumo Ghosh