Describing Sachin Tendulkar as worthy recipient of the Bharat Ratna award, sportspersons from different disciplines lend their voice to confer the iconic batsman with the country's highest civilian honour.

"It is the government that has to decide whether he (Tendulkar) should be given the award or not but as far as I am concerned, he definitely deserves the accolades. He has made every Indian proud," said ace shooter and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Gagan Narang.

"Sachin is playing since the time when many of the current generation Indian cricket players were not even born and still his hunger for runs has not diminished, which is quite remarkable," the shooter added.

Star boxer Vijender Singh who won the gold medal at last month's Asian Games at Guangzhou, China said, "Players like Sachin are born once in a millennium. His game has improved with age. He should be conferred with the Bharat Ratna for his achievements."

"We all take inspiration from Sachin. He has a unique way of replying his critics with the bat. I have met him on numerous occasions and it is difficult to find a person as humble as him," Vijender added.

Karnataka's Ashwini Akkunji was also in favour of the government bestowing Tendulkar with the Bharat Ratna award.

The athlete who clinched a pair of gold medals in 4X400 metre relay and 400m hurdles at Guangzhou Games said, "Sachin has given numerous happy moments to his countrymen. Despite being so successful he is very down-to-earth, which is quite inspiring."

"Watching him play motivates us to do well for our country on consistent basis," the athlete added.

Earlier chess champion Viswanathan Anand, melody queen Lata Mangeshkar and world cup winning captain Kapil Dev also asked the government to honour the star cricketer with the prestigious award.