Sania today became only the second tennis player to be recommended for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna after a Sports Ministry appointed selection panel named her for the top sporting award of the country.
"Whooaa waking up in Toronto to the most amazing news from back home.. Thank you everyone .. Thank you so much," Sania, who is taking part in a tournament in Toronto, tweeted.
Currently ranked world number one in women's doubles, Sania scripted history by becoming the first Indian to clinch a women's doubles Grand Slam when she partnered Swiss great Martina Hingis for the Wimbledon trophy earlier this year.
Sania's name was recommended by a Sports Ministry- constituted awards committee headed by Justice V K Bali, the retired Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court.
The committee included eminent athletes such as Dola Banerjee, M M Somayya and Bhogeshwar Baruah and sports journalists apart from top officials of the Sports Ministry.
