11. Abhinav Bindra's career almost ended before he won the Olympic gold
In 2006, after the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, the shooter had a career-threatening spinal injury but went through vigorous rehabilitation to change his posture. He won gold in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 after overcoming this injury.
12. Mary Kom's family found out about her boxing interest through a newspaper
As boxing was not considered to be an appropriate sport for a woman in her family, Mary Kom tried to hide her passion for the sport. But after she won the Manipur state championship, a newspaper published her photo which her father saw.
13. Sushil Kumar's father was a DTC bus driver
Even though he had a small income, his father, Diwan Singh, supported Sushil with his dreams and ensured that he did not face any troubles while pursuing his career in wrestling.
14. Vijender Singh is called the Indian David Beckham
He earned this title thanks to his looks. Apart from being a successful boxer, his good looks prompted the foreign media to give him this title.
15. Leander Paes is the oldest player in Open era Tennis to win a Grand Slam
After winning the Men's Doubles title at the 2013 US Open with his partner Radek Stepanek, Paes became the oldest player to win a Grand Slam Title in the Open era (post 1968).
16. Dhanraj Pillay has no exact record of his goals and is the only Indian to have played 4 World Cups, 4 Olympics, 4 Champions Trophies and 4 Asian games
One of the best players in hockey history, Pillay played in all these tournaments between 1990 and 2004. Under him India won the Asian Games in 1998 and 2003. Another interesting fact is that there is no exact record of the number of goals he scored, but he and other statisticians claim it is around 170.
17. Baichung Bhutia was the first Asian born player to score in the English league
On 15th April, 2000, he scored for his English club Bury against Chesterfield. This was his first goal for the club, making him the first Asian-born player to score in an English league.
18. Rahul Dravid is the first non-Australian cricketer to have spoken at Sir Donald Bradman's oration
In December 2011, Rahul Dravid went to Canberra to give a speech at Sir Donald Bradman's oration. He was the first non-Australian cricketer in history to have spoken there.
19. Geet Sethi is the only cueist to score 1000+ breaks in billiards and 147 in snooker
Geet Sethi's break of 1276 was unbeaten for 15 years and his 147 points break in snooker was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records. He is the only player in the world to hold both records.
20. Mountaineer Bachendri Pal also crossed Ganga from Haridwar to Calcutta on a raft
Apart from being the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest, she also led a team of 18 women in 3 rafts which crossed the mighty Ganges river from Haridwar to Calcutta covering a distance of 2155 kms in 39 days.
21. Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's family missed his Olympic moment due to cable strike
While Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won the silver medal at the Athens Olympics, his family could not view the magical moment because of a cable operator's strike. His wife got updates from a DD reporter over the phone.