CNN-IBN Indian of the Year- Sports Nominees Revealed
Vijender, Leander, Pankaj, Saina, Gautam, Bhaichung in the list

New Delhi, December 1, 2009: In its fourth year, CNN-IBN Indian of the Year ‘09 carries a host of distinguished names in its list of nominees in the Category of Sports. Through their stupendous grit, relentless hard work and insatiable hunger for bringing glory to their nation, the nominees in this category have made the country proud in a range of sporting disciplines including football, crickets, tennis, billiard, badminton & boxing. The nominees include the personalities who have created new paradigms with their thinking, inspired countless Indians and never shied away from giving their best. To choose these nominees, IBN18’s editorial team went through a stringent ratifying process and finally short listed six sportsmen who have left an indelible mark with the depth of their vision, their innovative thinking and dedication to not just excelling in their sports but also making a positive impact on the lives of others around them.

These nominees, who were the unanimous choice of the IBN 18 editorial, together define a brand new India – one which is upbeat, resurgent and dynamic. The nominees for CNN-IBN Indian of the Year ‘09 in the category of Sports are:

• VIJENDER SINGH: For achieving two firsts for an Indian boxer -- winning a World Championship medal and becoming the world number one in his category.
• LEANDER PAES: For reaching four Grand Slam finals in 2009 and winning 2 of them -- the French Open and the US Open -- at age 37.
• PANKAJ ADVANI: For winning the World Professional Billiards title and becoming the only man to hold both the world amateur and professional titles at the same time.
• SAINA NEHWAL: For taking Indian badminton to unprecedented heights by becoming the first Indian woman to win a Super Series title.
• GAUTAM GAMBHIR: For being the year's most consistent Indian batsmen in all three forms of the game and winning the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award.
• BHAICHUNG BHUTIA: For being the only world class player in the Indian football team and captaining a successful defence of the Nehru Cup.

Viewers and citizens can cast their votes for their favourite sports nominee by logging on to www.indianoftheyear.com - a specially created micro site for the awards. Can also vote through SMS by typing IOTY to 51818 and can call through IVRS on 5051818 and on 1255518(for MTNL mobile, BSNL mobile & landline users). Voting closes on 11th December mid night.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, IBN18 Network said, “One of our key objectives and driving forces behind these awards has been to try and make them as credible as possible. The procedure undertaken for selecting and short listing the nominees for CNN-IBN Indian of the Year ‘09 awards underlines complete transparency. We look forward to honouring and awarding the achievers”.

About Network 18
Network18 [BSE: 532798,NSE: Network18] is one of India's leading full play media conglomerates with interests in television, print, internet, filmed entertainment, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its holding in Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18) [BSE: 532299, NSE: TV-18], Network18 operates India’s leading business news television channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. It also runs one of India’s largest Internet players - Web18, as well as one of India’s leading real time financial information and news terminals - Newswire18. TV18 has recently expanded into print with Infomedia18, a newly formed entity following the acquisition of Infomedia, India's leading player in the special interest publishing and printing operations space.TV18 has also announced collaboration with Forbes media for the launch of a business magazine in India. Through its holding in ibn18 Broadcast Ltd (ibn18) [BSE: 532800,NSE: ibn18], Network18 operates in the general news and entertainment space with leading general news channels CNN-IBN and IBN7 and has launched IBN Lokmat, a Marathi news channel in partnership with the Lokmat group. ibn18 also operates a joint venture with Viacom, called Viacom18 which houses the MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon channels in India - as also Studio18, the Group’s filmed entertainment operation and has launched ‘Colors’, a Hindi general entertainment channel. Additionally, Network18 holds the Group’s online & on-air home shopping venture, Homeshop18 and its full spectrum events management venture, E18.

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