Sania Mirza was conferred India's highest sporting honour -- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on Saturday.

Sania feels it is an honour to receive such a prestigious award. 

"I would not like to pick any and say one was a bigger achievement than the other. It is a simply a huge honour to get this award. It has been an amazing year so far, becoming the world number one and winning the Wimbledon of course," PTI quoted Saina Nehwal as saying.

The Indian tennis star has been carrying the Indian flag on her shoulders for quite some time in the international women's circuit, placing India on the world tennis map for women. 

She might have not earned a huge name in women's singles, but her performances in the doubles competition has been immense as she is the present world number one in women's doubles. No Indian had ever achieved this feat.

Apart from her rankings, Sania also won her first women's doubles title in Wimbledon 2015, pairing alongside Swiss star Martina Hingis.

Also Read

After winning her first grand slam in women's doubles, Saina is now focusing on her upcoming events, which include US Open, other WTA tournaments and the 2016 Rio Olympics, where the Indian woman will be eager to win a gold for India.

As of now, Sania Mirza will need to concentrate on the last grand slam of the year, the US Open, which starts on Monday. Another grand slam for Sania Mirza could prove to be an icing on the cake. 

"As tennis players, we prepare for the upcoming season. I want to do well in Rio but it is too early to talk about the preparation for the event," said Sania.

With this, Saina also became the second Indian tennis star to win the award after Leander Paes won the Khel Ratna in 1996-97.

However, para-athlete HN Girisha, who was not convinced that Sania deserved the award, felt that he should have won the award. The para-athlete also challenged the government's decision in the Karnataka High Court.