<P> Per the original statutes , sportspersons were not eligible for the Bharat Ratna ; however , a revision of the rules in December 2011 made eligible `` any field of human endeavour '' . Subsequently , several sportspersons ' names were discussed ; among the most talked - about of these was field - hockey player Dhyan Chand , who was recommended multiple times for the posthumous honour . In 2011 , 82 members of parliament recommended Chand 's name for the award to the Prime Minister 's Office . In January 2012 , the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports forwarded his name again , this time along with 2008 Summer Olympics gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra and mountaineer Tenzing Norgay . Bindra had earlier been recommended for the award in May 2013 by the National Rifle Association of India . In July 2013 , the ministry again recommended Dhyan Chand . However , in November 2013 , cricketer Sachin Tendulkar became the first sports - person to receive the honour and this garnered much criticism for the government . </P>
<P> Per the original statutes , sportspersons were not eligible for the Bharat Ratna ; however , a revision of the rules in December 2011 made eligible `` any field of human endeavour '' . Subsequently , several sportspersons ' names were discussed ; among the most talked - about of these was field - hockey player Dhyan Chand , who was recommended multiple times for the posthumous honour . In 2011 , 82 members of parliament recommended Chand 's name for the award to the Prime Minister 's Office . In January 2012 , the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports forwarded his name again , this time along with 2008 Summer Olympics gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra and mountaineer Tenzing Norgay . Bindra had earlier been recommended for the award in May 2013 by the National Rifle Association of India . In July 2013 , the ministry again recommended Dhyan Chand . However , in November 2013 , cricketer Sachin Tendulkar became the first sports - person to receive the honour and this garnered much criticism for the government . </P>
who is the only sportsperson to have been awarded india 's highest civilian award bharat ratna
who is the only sportsperson to have been awarded india 's highest civilian award bharat ratna
cricketer Sachin Tendulkar
cricketer Sachin Tendulkar