From Mary Kom's record World Championship medal to Apurvi Chandela becoming the No. 1 spot in world rankings, here are the nominations for the Sportsperson of the Year (female).
ESPN India Awards 2019: Full coverage
MC Mary Kom
Mary Kom claimed a record eighth World Championship medal at Ulan Ude in October 2019 to become the most decorated boxer across both male and female events in the history of the competition. The 36-year-old's bronze came after she lost her 51 kg semi-final bout 1-4 to Turkey's Busenaz Cakiroglu. The six-time world champion and 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist is now looking to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Related: 'Most admired' Mary Kom driven by need to shut critics up
Manu Bhaker
Together with Saurabh Chaudhary, Manu Bhaker had a terrific gold run through the year with medals in the mixed 10m mixed event at the ISSF World Cups in New Delhi, Munich, Rio de Janeiro and Beijing. A month after the New Delhi World Cup in February, the duo shot a combined score of 784 in the qualification record, smashing the world record previously set by Russians Vitalina Batsarashkina and Artem Chernousov, and went on to win the five-team final. She won a Tokyo Olympic quota with a fourth-place finish in the individual event at the Munich World Cup, missing out on a medal by 0.1 point.
Related: Calm Manu Bhaker wants more medals after securing Tokyo Olympics quota
PV Sindhu
In August 2019, Sindhu became the first Indian player to win a gold medal at the BWF World Championships. She did so in ruthless, belligerent style, crushing former champion Nozomi Okuhara in straight games in a match that lasted all of 38 minutes. Previously, Sindhu had won two bronze and two silver medals, making her only the second female player after Chinese two-time Olympic medalist Zhang Ning to win five medals in the competition.
Related: Big game for the big stage - why Sindhu's the best of the decade
Rani Rampal
Indian hockey captain Rani Rampal has been the single-most pivotal figure in reshaping the fortunes of the team over the past decade. She has led the country to two successive Olympic qualifications, the most recent one through an all-important goal against USA, beating them narrowly on a 6-5 aggregate in the FIH Olympic qualifiers held in Odisha in November last year. In 2015, the women's team had qualified for the Rio Olympics after a 36-year hiatus following a decisive goal by Rani against Japan in Antwerp. Rani struck twice against Japan to help the team clinch the FIH Women's Series Finals 3-1 in Hiroshima in June 2019 and followed it up by winning the Olympic test event in August.
Related: Inspirational Rani Rampal remains a class above all
Vinesh Phogat
Ten months after she moved up her weight category -- 53 kg from 48 kg formerly -- Vinesh Phogat became only the fifth Indian female wrestler to win a World Championship medal in September 2019. The 25-year-old who had a barren run in her previous three appearances in the competition joined previous medallists Alka Tomar (2006), Geeta Phogat (2012), Babita Phogat (2012) and Pooja Dhanda (2018) in the feat, with a bronze medal. She also became the first Indian wrestler to secure a quota for the 2020 Olympics with a comprehensive 8-2 win over world number one, America's Sarah Hildebrandt in her second repechage round.
Related: Strict coach, stricter regimen create Vinesh Phogat 2.0
Apurvi Chandela
Apurvi Chandela had a remarkable start to 2019 with a world record and a gold medal. At the season-opening ISSF World Cup in New Delhi in February she beat China's Zhao Ruozhu, who had topped qualification with a score of 634.0, a world record, by 1.1 point for a gold medal. The 10m rifle shooter then climbed to the No. 1 spot in world rankings in May and followed it up with a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup in Munich that month. Her gold rush continued, raking in a mixed team gold with Deepak Kumar at the ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro in September.
Related: Apurvi Chandela comes close to perfection en route to World Cup gold