Tendulkar gets 'Lebara People's Choice' award

Awards and accolades continue to follow Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, who added the 'Lebara People's Choice' honour to his trophy vault, at the inaugural Asian Awards in London.

Presenting the award to the iconic batsman, Ratheesan Yoganathan, CEO Lebara, said, "Tendulkar is one of the greatest cricketers of all-time. Sachin is a hero and a role model to many young Indians.

"His skill on the pitch is remarkable, but his influence goes beyond just cricket - he has become an inspiration for future generations," he added.

Tendulkar said getting popular choice awards is the ultimate honour.

"To receive an accolade from your peers is one thing, but to receive acknowledgment from the public is the ultimate honour. Thank you to all those who voted for me," he said.

The Asian Awards 2010, presented by Lord Sebastian Coe, saw leaders in business, sports and the arts in attendance, including award winners Yash Chopra, A R Rahman and Vijay Mallya alongside guests Jermaine Jackson, Nasser Hussain OBE, Gurinder Chadha, Christian Louboutin and playback singer Sonu Nigam.

Oscar-award winning music director Rahman won the award for outstanding achievement in music, while Yash Chopra received the outstanding achievement award in cinema.

Liquor-baron Vijay Mallya was chosen as the 'Entrepreneur of the Year' while telecom giant Bharti-Airtel owner Sunil Mittal was named the 'Philanthropist of the year'.

Mittal's award was collected by Eiesha Bharti Pasricha. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan got the 'Lifetime Achievement award'.

Other recipients of the awards were: Ratan Tata (Business Leader of the Year, collected by Anwar Hasan), Zarin Patel (Public Servant of the year), Prof Muhammad Yunus (Social Entrepreneur of the year, collected by Shiban Mahbub), Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla (Outstanding achievement in Arts and Design), George Alagiah OBE (Outstanding achievement in television).

Created to honour excellence and achievement among in the south Asian community, the inaugural Asian Awards in partnership with Lebara, saw South Asians gather at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Tesday night.