Recommended names for Bharat Ratna

Sportspersons are now eligible for the prestigious Bharat Ratna. And the two prominent names doing the rounds for the honour are those of Sachin Tendulkar and late Major Dhyan Chand. But not many seem happy with that.

"The two prominent names that come to the mind are Sachin Tendulkar and hockey wizard Dhyan Chand," Sports Minister Ajay Maken had said.

The National Rifle Association of India though would beg to differ. The association has written to the Sports Minister, nominating Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra's name for the highest civilian honour.

"This will be a huge encouragement for Abhinav ahead of the London Olympics," Baljeet Sethi said.

Meanwhile, a private tennis coach has also written a letter, recommending two time Wimbledon semi-finalist Ramanathan Krishnan's name. 

So everyone has a nominee in mind, including Deepika Padukone!

"If you ask me, I'd definitely say my father (Prakash Padukone) deserves it, without a doubt," she said.

While the Sports Ministry hasn't reacted to any of these suggestions, there is no guarantee that a sportsperson will get the Bharat Ratna or that the award will be given at all for this year.

All recommendations for Bharat Ratna are being sent to the Prime Minister and only he would take a call on the sportsperson who should be conferred with the award. A final announcement will be made soon.

The last recipient of the Bharat Ratna was Pandit Bhim Sen Joshi in 2008.