Mary Kom, Vikas Krishan get awards at AIBA 70th anniversary gala

“I would like to thank AIBA President Dr Wu for giving me this award along with APB Director Mr Mirko Wolf. We had no federation for the last four years but now we have one and all of them are working hard and I hope we will do well in the future,” Vikas, who competed in two APB bouts this year, said after receiving his trophy.

Mary Kom was picked for the honour for her decorated career during which she also won multiple Asian Championships gold medals besides the spectacular feat of five world titles. She was christened ‘Magnificent Mary’ by AIBA after her fourth world title back in 2008 and was also one of the eight brand ambassadors for the event this year.

The 33-year-old Manipuri recently decided to move back to the 48kg category after four years in 51kg. Her move came amid speculation that 48kg could be among the weight categories that would get a place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics roster.

Vikas, meanwhile, won a bronze medal in the Olympic qualifying tournament besides finishing a quarterfinalist in the main event in Rio.