Will continue to bat for India: Sachin on receiving Bharat Ratna

New Delhi: Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and eminent scientist Prof C N R Rao were on Tuesday conferred with the country’s highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna by President Pranab Mukherjee.

The President presented the honours at a brief function at Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Durbar Hall attended by Vice President Hamid Ansari, UPA Chief Sonia Gandhi, Union ministers, Sachin’s wife Anjali, daughter Sara and a host of dignitaries.

Speaking to media persons outside Rashtrapati Bhavan, Sachin said he was honoured to have received the award and dedicated it to his mother.

“I am extremely proud to be born in this nation… I’d like to express my thanks for all the love I’ve received in this country… I will continue to bat for India and try my best to give the people of India a reason to smile.”

Tendulkar, who retired from international cricket on 16 November last year, is the first sportsman to be bestowed with the honour.

Tendulkar (40) and Rao (79), both of whom are recipients of Padma Vibhushan – the country’s second highest civilian honour, will join a list of 41 eminent personalities who have been conferred with the award that is given in recognition of exceptional service of the highest order since it was instituted in 1954.

In a fitting finale to a record-breaking career spanning 24 years, Tendulkar, a former India Captain, was chosen for the prestigious award, after his farewell 200th Test against the West Indies in Mumbai on 16 November, 2013.

An official statement had said Tendulkar has been a true Ambassador of India in the world of sports and his achievements in cricket are unparallelled, the records set by him unmatched, and the spirit of sportsmanship displayed by him exemplary.

“That he has been honoured with several awards is testimony to his extraordinary brilliance as a sportsman,” it said, noting that Tendulkar has played cricket across the world and won laurels for the country during the last 24 years since a young age of 16.

An outspoken scientist, Prof Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao is a well recognized international authority on solid state and materials chemistry who has published over 1,400 research papers and 45 books.

He is the third scientist after CV Raman and former President APJ Abdul Kalam to be conferred with the Bharat Ratna.

Prof Rao’s contributions have been recognized by most major scientific academies around the world through conferment of memberships and fellowships and has been honoured with several national and international awards, the official announcement said.

He currently serves as the Head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.

The Bharat Ratna was announced after a gap of four years with Hindustani music doyen Bhimsen Joshi being the last recipient in 2009.

PTI