IISM Wins Sportstar Aces Award 2026: Best Educational Institute for Promotion of Sports
The 2026 edition of the Sportstar Aces Awards happened at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Colaba, Mumbai on Friday, 13th March. It wasn’t just to hand out award trophies — it was a celebration of the top sporting performers & contributors to India’s sports ecosystem! From honouring the best Indian athletes from across sports to addressing the veteran legends and the foundation they laid back in the day to bring Indian sport on the global podium — this year’s Sportstar Aces Awards ceremony was a special one.
IISM at Sportstar Aces Awards 2026
IISM Named the Best Educational Institute for Promotion of Sports
International Institute of Sports & Management – IISM Mumbai has been making a mark in India’s sports industry for the past decade and a half by producing top-notch sports professionals. And this contribution was honoured, as IISM was awarded with the ‘Best Educational Institute for Promotion of Sports’ at the Sportstar Aces Awards 2026.
Former Indian cricketer & IISM’s Founder-Director Mr. Nilesh Kulkarni represented the institute to collect the award at the ceremony from former Indian cricketer Mr. Pragyan Ojha along with the Co-Founder of Exchange4Media Mr. Nawal Ahuja.
FUN FACT
Nilesh Kulkarni & Pragyan Ojha had the same bowling style – Slow Left Arm Orthodox
After being conferred with the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar for ‘Sports for Development’ in 2020, this is a massive honour for IISM to be awarded with the Sportstar Aces Award, as the magazine under The Hindu Group has led the way in India’s sports journalism landscape for several decades now.
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Key Highlights of IISM’s Journey
Having retired from cricket in 2010, Mr. Kulkarni established IISM with a vision of producing sports managers who could not only manage sports events in India but uplift the country’s sports ecosystem. And since then, the institute has grown by leaps & bounds, grooming over 5000 sports management & sports science professionals, who are working across various sporting organizations in India.
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IISM established in 2010 — First-ever Sports Management Institute in India
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First batch of 70 Sports Management students graduated in 2011
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Sports Heroes of India – Indian National Anthem Feature Video with Bharat Ratna Shri Sachin Tendulkar, Sania Mirza, Sunil Gavaskar, Dhanraj Pillai, Gagan Narang, Sushil Kumar, Bhaichung Bhutia and Mahesh Bhupati
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Collaboration with Mumbai University & GICED for Bachelor and Master of Sports Management announced in 2017
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Awarded with the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar in 2020
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Official Knowledge Partners to Khelo India Games since 2020
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Introduced new degree nomenclature in the UGC in 2021
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Sports Heroes of India 2.0 with India’s leading Olympians & Paralympians in 2022
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Sports Science Degree programmes Launched in 2022
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IISM’s Knowledge Series Books: Business of Sports, Sports Psychology & GOATs Must be Crazy launched to give Indian context to global sporting data
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Official Knowledge & Strategic Partner for the 37th National Games – Goa
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Official Volunteer Training Partner for the 38th National Games – Uttarakhand
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MOU with Carnegie School of Sport in the UK
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Collaboration with IIM Mumbai for One-Year PG Diploma in Sports Management
Other Winners at Sportstar Aces Awards 2026
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Best Corporate for Promotion of Sport – GMR Sports
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Special Ace of Aces Award – MC Mary Kom, Sakshi Malik
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Best PSU for Promotion of Sport – Indian Oil
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Best State for Promotion of Sport – Bihar
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Sports for Social Good – Project Nanhi Kali
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Young Achiever of the Year – Jonathan Anthony & Suruchi Singh
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Club/State Team of the Year – Vidarbha
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Coach of the Year – Amol Muzumdar & Naval Singh
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Comeback of the Year – Murali Sreeshankar
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Award of Excellence – Tania Sachdev, Manika Batra and Rani Rampal
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Sportsman of the Year (Olympic Sports) – Samrat Rana
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Sportswoman of the Year (Olympics Sports) – Mirabai Chanu & Suruchi Singh
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Mentor of the Roots Award – Pritam Siwach
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Lifetime Achievement Award (Female) – M.D. Valsamma
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Lifetime Achievement Award (Male) – Nari Contractor
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National Team of the Year – Indian Women’s Cricket Team
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Sportswoman of the Year (Team Sports) – Deepti Sharma
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Sportswoman of the Year (Non-Olympic Sports) – Jyothi Surekha Vennam
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Sportsman of the Year (Team Sports) – Shubman Gill
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Sportsman of the Year (Male) – Mohammed Siraj
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Sportswoman of the Year (Female) – Smriti Mandhana
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International Icon – Glenn McGrath
Amid a record-breaking year for the Indian Women’s cricket team, Indian women cricketers Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana represented the 2025 Women’s World Cup-winning team at the Sportstar Aces Awards to collect the National Team of the Year award.
Meanwhile, former captains of the Indian Women’s cricket team — Diana Edulji, Nilima Jogalekar, Shubhangi Kulkarni, Sandhya Agarwal, Purnima Rau, Sudha Shah, Pramila Bhatt, Chanderkanta Kaul, Anju Jain and Jhulan Goswami — received special honours as the Sportstar Casgrand Standard Award along with a specially framed Sportstar cover that featured an image of their playing days. And another emotional moment was Mr. Sunil Gavaskar paying tribute to Mr. Nari Contractor — a legend of Indian cricket in its early days in the 1950s & ’60s.
All in all, the Sportstar Aces Awards 2026 was a ceremony worth remembering for Indian sporting legends & upcoming sporting stars, who are making the nation proud on the global stage.
