Sachin Tendulkar should be made sports minister to improve India's sporting prowess, ace athlete Milkha Singh said here Tuesday.

 

 "Sachin should be made sports minister so that he can work for the betterment of sport. It's only a sportsman who will work sincerely and with dedication for the cause of sports," the "Flying Sikh" said.

 

 Milkha Singh was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the unveiling of the mascot for the Lusofonia Games in Panaji.

 

 Singh, who unveiled "Jojo", the mascot for the Portuguese Commonwealth Games 2014 scheduled to be held in Goa, also said he has "never given any thought" as to whether the Bharat Ratna should be have been conferred upon him, instead of Sachin Tendulkar.

 

 He, however, said there was one athlete who really deserved India's highest honour.

 

 "One person who deserved the Bharat Ratna before anyone else was Dhyanchand," he Singh said.