K Krishnan was Singapore's rising star in the boxing arena when he took up the sport of boxing in 1973. During the short span of three years, he was awarded the Sportsman of the Year 1976 by the Singapore National Olympic Council's panel of selectors.

Krishnan's achievement was proof that hard work and perseverance makes for a successful sportsman. He became a boxer after he was enlisted into the police force in 1974. There he developed a keen interest for the sport while viewing training sessions at the academy.

One of the instructors at the force, Mahadevan, noticed Krishnan's interest and invited him to join in at training sessions. Krishnan was such an enthusiast that he started practicing daily; within five months he won for himself the National Middle-Weight Championship. He was a novice boxer at the time and was regarded as a dark horse prior to his surprise win.

Krishnan's triumph over his contemporaries at that tournament - Aloysius Martin and V.Gunalan - boosted his confidence and held sway over his determination to become a serious competitive boxer. His feelings toward the sport was that ''boxing is not just merely a sport but a good form of self-defence as well''. He went on to earn several medals (mostly gold) at regional boxing tournaments.

In light of his four gold medals and a bronze at various competitive tournaments held during 1976, K Krishnan was awarded the Sportsman of the Year award. Coupled with Syed Abdul Kadir's similar award in 1974, boxing in Singapore was enjoying its golden period during the time, thanks to inimitable boxers like K Krishnan.