MS Dhoni and Abhinav Bindra honoured 'Lt Colonel' rank

On Tuesday, 1st November 2011, Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra were officially honoured with Lieutenant Colonels rank in the Territorial Army. Both these Indian sportstars will join the chief of the army, General V.K. Singh.

Report states that on 13th September 2011, the President Pratibha Patil gave the approval to honour the sportstars with the title, looking over their achievements in their corresponding sports.

Indian skipper MS Dhoni, who lead the Indian Cricket team to victory in ICC Twenty20 world cup 2007, victory in the cricket World Cup 2011 and also played an important role in taking the team to the Number 1 position in Test rankings last year.

On the other hand, Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra won the individual Olympic Gold medal for the country during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

On being conferred with the honorary Lieutenant Colonels rank, Dhoni said, "I have got the maroon beret now, but I have to earn it. I will soon find time to go for my training, will meet with the soldiers on the borders and encourage youth to join the army. Joining the Territorial Army and donning this uniform is a childhood dream come true for me."

Both the two sportspersons have now joined senior Indian cricketers like Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar. In 2008, Kapil Dev was addressed with the honorary Lt. Col. rank in the Territorial Army, whereas in 2010, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar was conferred with honorary Group Captain in the Indian Air Force (IAF).