<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
cricketer Sachin Tendulkar