Sachin Tendulkar first sportsman to be honoured with Bharat Ratna

India cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar was conferred with the Bharat Ratna by President Pranad Mukherjee at a ceremony in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Tendulkar, who retired from international cricket on November 16 last year, became the youngest recipient and the first ever sportsperson to receive the award, the highest civilian honour.

Sachin received the honour in the presence of his wife Dr Anjali and daughter Sara at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

"That he has been honoured with several awards is testimony to his extraordinary brilliance as a sportsman," an official statement said, noting that Tendulkar has played cricket across the world and won laurels for the country during the last 24 years.

Tendulkar has also been awarded the Arjuna Award in 1994 for outstanding sporting achievement, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1997, India's highest sporting honour, and the Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan awards in 1999 and 2008, respectively.

Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters