NEW DELHI: Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant has been nominated for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award, marking a significant recognition of his inspiring return to the sport after a life-threatening car accident.
The nomination places Pant among global sporting legends, including gymnast Rebeca Andrade, swimmer Ariarne Titmus, ski racer Lara Gut-Behrami, swimmer Caeleb Dressel, and MotoGP star Marc Márquez.
The prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards, celebrating its 25th anniversary, will be held in Madrid on April 21, where the winners will be announced.
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Pant’s journey from near tragedy to international cricket has been nothing short of remarkable.
In December 2020, he was involved in a horrific car crash on the Delhi-Dehradun highway, escaping just moments before his vehicle caught fire.
The accident left him with multiple critical injuries, threatening to end his career. Over the next 629 days, he endured a grueling recovery process, overcoming physical and mental challenges before making a triumphant return to Test cricket.
In his comeback match against Bangladesh, Pant marked his resurgence with a match-winning century, equaling MS Dhoni’s record for the most Test hundreds by an Indian wicketkeeper.
Expressing his gratitude for the nomination, Pant opened up on the importance of resilience and self-belief in overcoming adversity.
“I have always believed that the biggest virtue of life is to be grateful for everything God has blessed you with. Over the course of my life, I have focused in being positive and happy in every situation, trusting the power of self-belief and resilience to deal with every challenge. When I survived the near fatal car crash, I realised that I have been fortunate to be a blessed soul, which inspired me to work extremely hard to undo everything and return to the pitch as a better version of myself with greater motivation.”
Laureus Ambassador and former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh lauded Pant’s unwavering positivity during his recovery, stating,”I met with Rishabh in March 2023. At that point, he was well on the road to recovery from his injuries, but also still had a way to go. What struck me most was his relentless positivity. We enjoyed a good laugh in each other’s company and it was that generosity of spirit and optimism which carried him through – and saw him cap a remarkable comeback with his return to Test cricket in 2024. “
The Laureus World Sports Awards will also recognise outstanding athletes across various categories, with nominees including Max Verstappen, Carlos Alcaraz, Simone Biles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, and Lamine Yamal.
The full list of Nominees is:
Laureus World Sportsman of The Year Award
- Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) Tennis – Won the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic silver medal
- Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) Athletics – retained Olympic pole vault title; has now broken world record 10 times
- Léon Marchand (France) Swimming – won four individual gold medals at the Paris Olympics
- Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) Cycling – 25 wins, including Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and World Championship
- Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Motor Racing – won a fourth successive Formula One World Championship
Laureus World Sportswoman of The Year Award
- Simone Biles (USA) Gymnastics – impressive return to Olympic stage with three golds and a silver in Paris
- Aitana Bonmatí (Spain) Football – second straight Ballon d’Or Feminin as Barcelona won Champions League, Liga F and Copa de la Reina
- Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) Athletics – bronze in 5,000m and 10,000m plus marathon gold in Paris
- Faith Kipyegon (Kenya) Athletics – became the only three-time Olympic champion in 1,500 metres in Paris
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) Athletics – Olympic golds in 400m hurdles and 4 x 400m relay
- Aryna Sabalenka Tennis – won Australian and US Opens; became World No.1 in singles and doubles
Laureus World Team of The Year Award
- FC Barcelona Women’s Team (Spain) Football – won Champions League, Liga F and the Copa de la Reina
- Boston Celtics (USA) Basketball – claimed a record 18th NBA title, one more than their old rivals LA Lakers
- McLaren Formula One Team (UK) Formula One – secured their first World Constructors’ Championship since 1998
- Real Madrid (Spain) Football – won 15th Champions League/European Cup, La Liga and Supercopa de España
- Spain Men’s Football Team – became most successful team in European Championship history with fourth win
- USA Basketball Men’s National Team – claimed USA’s fifth straight Olympic gold to emulate the famous Dream Team
Laureus Breakthrough of The Year Award
- Julien Alfred (St Lucia) Athletics – won 100m in debut Olympics to take home St Lucia’s first-ever Olympic gold
- Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Germany) Football – Bundesliga champions for first time in their 120-year history after unbeaten season
- Summer McIntosh (Canada) Swimming – won three individual golds and a silver in Paris
- Letsile Tebogo (Botswana) Athletics – won 200m gold medal, Botswana’s first-ever Olympic gold medal
- Victor Wembanyama (France) Basketball – San Antonio Spurs centre won the NBA Rookie of the Year
- Lamine Yamal (Spain) Football – named Best Young Player as Spain won the European Championships
Laureus World Comeback of The Year Award
- Rebeca Andrade (Brazil) Gymnastics – battling back from injury, she won Olympic gold, two silvers and bronze
- Caeleb Dressel (USA) Swimming – overcame mental health issues to win two relay golds and a silver in Paris
- Lara Gut-Behrami (Switzerland) Alpine Skiing – won overall World Cup title for first time since 2015/16 season
- Marc Márquez (Spain) Motor Cycling – returned from serious injury to win three Grand Prix in 2024
- Rishabh Pant (India) Cricket – 629 days after a life-threatening car crash, returned to play for India Test team
- Ariarne Titmus (Australia) Swimming – defended her Olympic 400m freestyle title less than year after being diagnosed with a tumour
Laureus World Action Sportsperson of The Year Award
- Yuto Horigome (Japan) Skateboarding – landed best trick of street competition to secure back-to-back Olympic golds
- Chloe Kim (USA) Snowboarding – won her seventh X-Games superpipe gold medal
- Caroline Marks (USA) Surfing – 22-year-old won the Olympic surfing gold in Tahiti
- Aleksandra Miroslaw (Poland) Speed Climbing – set two world records on her way to Paris gold
- Tom Pidcock (UK) Mountain Biking – won back-to-back Olympic titles in the cyclo-cross discipline
- Arisa Trew (Australia) Skateboarding – became Australia’s youngest-ever Olympic champion, aged 14
Laureus World Sportperson of The Year With A Disability Award
- Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) Athletics – won five gold medals and a silver at the Paris Paralympics
- Teresa Perales (Spain) Swimming – won bronze in Paris, to take her Paralympic medal haul to 28
- Tokito Oda (Japan) Wheelchair Tennis – came from match point down to become youngest-ever Paralympic singles winner
- Matt Stutzman (USA) Archery – became first-ever armless para-archery champion to win Olympic gold
- Jiang Yuyan (China) Swimming – most-decorated athlete at Paralympics, she won seven golds from seven events
- Qu Zimo (China) Wheelchair Badminton – won three golds at World Championship, then two more in Paris
Laureus Sport for Good Award
- Programmes nominated by a specialist selection panel; Laureus Academy select the winner
- Kick4life (Lesotho) Football x Gender Equity – uses football to reach at-risk children and young people
- Figure Skating Harlem (USA) Figure Skating x Racial Equity – help girls transform their lives through figure skating
- Kind Surf (Spain) Surfing x Inclusion – uses surf therapy to support young people at risk of social exclusion due to intellectual disabilities
- Liberi Nantes (Italy) Football x Social Inclusion – offers wide range of sporting activities for refugees and political asylum seekers
- Paris Basket 18 (France) Basketball x Gender Equity – focuses on development of women’s sport, and promotes social integration
- Street League (UK) Multi-sport x Employability – uses the power of sport to help young people aged 14-30 prepare for employment and training opportunities