NEW DELHI:India’s President Pranab Mukherjee has presented the country’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna award to cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.
The star cricketer is the first sportsman and the youngest recipient of the award.
President Mukherjee presented the honour to Tendulkar and leading scientist Prof CNR Rao at a ceremony at Delhi’s presidential palace called Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday morning.
“I will continue to bat for India even though cricket has stopped,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India after receiving the award.
Tendulkar, who retired from all forms of cricket last November, is the one most accomplished cricketers in the world, finishing his illustrious career with a fair clutch of records. He has 15,921 runs from a record 200 Test matches at an average of 53.58 and 51 centuries.
Previous recipients of the award include India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and former PMs Rajiv and Indira Gandhi.
Tendulkar had dedicated the honour to his mother Rajni when he was nominated for it hours after he announced his retirement last year.
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