Sachin Tendulkar was honoured with Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award on Tuesday. India’s President, Pranab Mukherjee presented the recently retired batting maestro with the award at Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi.
Tendulkar thus became the first sportsperson to be bestowed with the honour and at 40, also its youngest recipient.
The Bharat Ratna conferred "for performance of highest order in any field of human endeavour," is given in form of a bronze toned peepal leaf 5.8 cm long, 4.7 cm wide and 3.1 mm thick. The front of the leaf has a replica of the sun embossed on it along with the words Bharat Ratna in the Devanagari script. The reverse side contains India’s national emblem and the motto.
The announcement of Tendulkar’s nomination for the award came the day he retired from international cricket, on November 16, 2013. In his parting press conference, in Mumbai, the legend had dedicated the award to his mother, Rajni Tendulkar and “all mothers of India”.
"There are millions and millions of mothers in India who sacrifice many things for their children. I would like to share my award with them," he had said.
Tendulkar said that he was humbled and honoured to receive the Bharat Ratna.
He also congratulated fellow recipient Professor CNR Rao. "I would like to congratulate Prof CNR Rao for getting the Bharat Ratna. It is an honour to get the award with him, his contribution to the field of science is immense," he had said.
