Game-On Reporter
Reigning champion and United States-based sprinting sensation Tapiwanashe Makarawu is set to go head-to-head with national cricket team captain Sikandar Raza in a highly anticipated showdown for Zimbabwe’s most prestigious sporting accolades.
The Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) officially unveiled the shortlist for the 2025 Annual National Sports Awards (ANSA), setting up a fiercely contested battleground for both the Sportsman of the Year and the Sportsperson of the Year categories.
Makarawu, who dominated the previous edition of the awards, enters the ring looking to defend his crown following a stellar international season.
The blistering 200-metre national record holder cemented his world-class status by capturing both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor 200m titles over the past year.
On the global stage, Makarawu proved his sixth-place finish at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was no fluke by surging into the finals at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, where he finished seventh in the world.
His extraordinary run on the track previously earned him the overall Athlete of the Year award at the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) Excellence Awards in Bindura.
However, the speed merchant faces formidable opposition from Chevrons captain Sikandar Raza, whose cricket exploits reached unprecedented heights over the same tracking period.
Raza launched his sensational year by being shortlisted for the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year, a nod to his spectacular performances.
The 39-year-old all-rounder carried that momentum into early 2025, climbing to the number one spot in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings for the first time in his career, before mirroring the achievement in late 2025 by claiming the world number one spot in the T20I all-rounder rankings.
The two sporting heavyweights will not only duel for the Sportsman of the Year title—alongside karateka Wilfred Mashaya—but they are also locked in a three-way battle for the supreme Sportsperson of the Year gong, where they are joined by rising tennis star Sasha Chimedza.
Chimedza is also a frontrunner for the Sportswoman of the Year award, facing competition from fellow tennis player Rutendo Tom and Chido Maenzanise of the Zimbabwe Strongman Federation.
