Which Other Sportsmen/women deserve a Bharat Ratna?

Sachin Tendulkar became the first sportsperson in India to win Bharat Ratna when the Government of India announced the award on day he retired from competitive cricket. Sachin Tendulkar has been one of the top sportsmen that the country has produced and he truly deserves the top honor of the country. However, there are quite a few other sports persons who deserve it equally. 

Dhyan Chand 

The Wizard, as he was called for his superb ball control skills, has scored over 400 international goals. He has won 3 Olympic goals (1928, 32 & 36) during the Indian dominance (partly to do with the presence of players from the current Pakistan) of Hockey before independence. How many of us know the following

1)     August 29th is celebrated as the National Sports Day - It is Dhyan Chand's birthday

2)     The Government of India has an award named Dhyan Chand Award for the Lifetime achievement in sports

3)     The hockey Stadium in Delhi is called the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium 

4)     There are stories that he turned down German citizenship offered by Hitler during the Berlin Olympics

I have read that sadly when he fell ill in 1979 before his death he was admitted in the general ward of AIIMS (it is not only now that sportsmen other than cricketers suffer). He was shifted to a room only after a news article. 

Viswanathan Anand

Anand was the first Grand Master from India. The number of grand masters has grown from 1 in 1988 to 36 now thanks to the popularity of Anand. Some reasons why Anand should be the awarded Bharat Ratna

1)     He is a 5 time world champion (don't think the way the current match is going he will become a 6 time champion, at least not this year)

2)     One of the 6 players in the world to cross 2800 mark in the Elo ratings

3)     He has been a world # 1 for a considerable period

4)     There is not one tournament in the world of Chess that he has not won

Do you know that Anand is one of the youngest to win the Padma Shri (won it at the age of 18) and also the first to win Rajiv Ratna Khel Ratna award. 

Mary Kom

Mary Kom is another 5 time world champion and the only boxer to have won a model in all the 6 world championships held so far. She also won us a medal in the London Olympics. However, she has not won the Padma Vibhushan which is the second top civilian honor in the country. Not sure if that is a criteria for getting a Bharat Ratna

Cricketers 

There are two cricketers who I think defined Indian cricket in the last 30-40 years are Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. Sunil Gavaskar was the first to score 10,000 runs in Tests and those were the days when 10,000 was a huge number and it took years for Border to reach that number. He also went on to score 34 test centuries and that stayed on for a long time as the most number of hundreds till the Sachins and Dravids and Laras went past that. Kapil Dev was the Indian cricketer of the century. He was at a time the leading wicket taker in ODI and Tests and also the one of the best all-rounders that the game has produced. He also helped us win the world cup. (Dhoni got a Khel Ratna for leading India to World T20 championships.) However, like Mary Kom both have not won a Padma Vibhushan. 

Leander Paes

1)     One of the best Tennis players India has ever produced.

2)     He was second Indian to win an individual medal in Olympics when he won the bronze in 1996 Atlanta Games.

3)     He has a phenomenal record in Davis cup having defeated some of the top players like Goran Ivanisevic.

4)     He has the longest winning streak with Mahesh Bhupathi in Davis cup doubles.

5)     He has won 14 grand slam titles and is regarded as one of the best ever Doubles Player.

Sadly, Leander has not even won a Padma Bhushan so don't think they will even consider him for a Bharat Ratna. At least not in the near future. He also happens to share by birthday and was my classmate for 5 years (don't think those are reasons to win an award, unless I become the PM of the country :))