Bengaluru, April 2: Former Indian Super League (ISL) champions Bengaluru FC have been named as Club of the Decade at the Sportstar Aces Awards while boxing legend Mary Kom was adjudged Sportswoman of the Decade and javelin star Neeraj Chopra bagged the Sportsman of the Decade honour.
Eleven awards were presented under the popular choice category, which was open to public voting, along with 14 jury awards as well as special recognitions.
BFC's trophy cabinet is enriched with two I League crowns, as many Federation Cups and an ISL and a Super Cup title apiece.
The Best! 🔥 Bengaluru FC have been named 'Club of the Decade' at the Sportstar #AcesAwards.
— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) April 1, 2021
This one's for every single person who's been a part of our journey. And we're only getting started! 🔵 #WeAreBFC #SportstarGoD pic.twitter.com/Pyk3eoESun
The Sunil Chhetri-led side also made it to the final of the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup final in Qatar, which is still rated as one of the the best performance by an Indian club at the continental level.
BFC has also set high standards off the field, be it in the kind of professionalism it has instilled in its footballers or the manner in which it has provided its coaches with the time and room to build winning units.
It may be recalled that last July, the club's grassroots development initiative was conferred two-star academy status by the AFC, making it the only professional club in India to gain the recognition.
"On behalf of Bengaluru FC, we want to thank Sportstar for nominating us for Club of the Decade. We want to thank the support from the journalists, staff and management of the club for always supporting us," said BFC's Spanish midfielder Dimas Delgado while accepting the award on behalf of the club.
Can we talk about what a mood @UdantaK is? 😎#BengaluruFC - the Sportstar #AcesAwards2021 Club of the Decade 👏
— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) April 2, 2021
Episode 1 winners, highlights 👉 https://t.co/YsRi2t2vaS #SportstarGoD | #GiantsOftheDecade pic.twitter.com/2M0spoG49t
The 2021 edition of the Sportstar ACES Awards, held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, honoured the Giants of the Decade in Indian sport, with the winners being assessed on their performance and consistency from 2011 to 2020.
FULL LIST OF AWARDS
INDIVIDUAL
Neeraj Chopra, Sportsman of the Decade (Track and Field)
Krishna Poonia, Sportswoman of the Decade (Track and Field).
Mary Kom, Sportswoman of the Decade (Olympic Sports)
Narain Karthikeyan, Sportsperson of the Decade (Motorsports)
Para Sports
Devendra Jhajharia, Sportsman of the Decade
Deepa Malik, Sportswoman of the Decade
TEAM/INSTITUTION
Bengaluru FC, Club of the Decade
Odisha, Best State for Promotion of Sports
Indian Railways, Best PSU for the Promotion of Sports.
(With Sportstar/BFC inputs)