Bengaluru: Sachin Tendulkar being awarded Bharat Ratna ahead of Indian hockey legend Dhyan Chand has created a new controversy regarding who's more deserving of receiving the prestigious award. This is the first time a sporting icon has received the award. The decision has received with mixed results with some welcoming it, while others fume for Dhyan Chand being ignored again.
Some believe Dhyan Chand, who won India three Olympic golds, should have been the first sporting icon to get the award and not Tendulkar who just retired from international cricket. However, some welcome the decision to confer Bharat Ratna to Sachin.
Defending the government's decision to confer Bharat Ratna to Sachin ahead of Dhyan Chand, BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla said the iconic batsman truly deserved the award and the hockey legend has been given due honour by naming many awards after him.
Asked about the government's decision to bestow the prestigious award on Tendulkar and not to Dhyan Chand, Shukla, also an union minister, said, "He (Dhyan Chand) was a great hockey player. There are many awards given across the country which are named after him. The media should first check that number and then pose such type of question."
However, some said Dhyan Chand should be given the Bharat Ratna as well. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was quoted as saying, "It is good that Sachin Tendulkar has got the Bharat Ratna, but hockey great Major Dhyan Chand too should be given Bharat Ratna. I have written earlier to the Centre to confer Bharat Ratna on Major Dhyan Chand, but got no reply. I will write again to the Centre to consider Dhyanchand for the honour."
Former India hockey player Ashok Kumar, the son of legendary Dhyan Chand, who was also a contender for the country's highest civilian honour, congratulated Tendulkar.
"I am very happy that at last a sportsperson is being conferred with the Bharat Ratna. Sachin truly deserves the honour," Ashok told PTI. "We are not at all disappointed that Dhyan Chand did not get the Bharat Ratna. We tried our best. I am happy that Sachin is the first sportsperson to receive the honour."
"It is a welcome step from the government to include sportspersons for Bharat Ratna. This recognition will motivate all sportspersons to excel in their fields," added Ashok.
