THE ROCKET - Rod Laver

b: August 9, 1938, in Rockhampton, Australia)

was the World No. 1 player for up to 7 consecutive years.
More famously, he is the only player in tennis history to
have twice won all four of tennis Grand Slam singles titles
in the same year—first as an amateur in 1962, and then
again as a professional in 1969.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
> Won 11 major titles
> Won the Grand Slam twice, in 1962 and ’69.
> In ’69, won an Open era men’s record of 17 titles
M S Krishnan writes that he was such a great player mainly
because of his great temperament. He had very good nerves too.
Many people think he is an all-time great because of the results.
Apart from being great tennis players, he was real gentlemen
too. A fine examples of humility and sportsmanship.
 Peter "Pete" Sampras (b.
August 12, 1971, in
Washington, DC) - 'Pistol Pete';
During his 15 year career, he
won a record 14 Grand Slam
singles titles in 52 appearances
and finished the year as No. 1 on
the ATP rankings for six
consecutive years, a record for
the open era and tying him for
third all-time. Sampras won the
singles title.

at Wimbledon seven times,

an all-time record shared
with William Renshaw. He
also won five singles titles He was not a
at the U.S. Open, an open particularly notable
era record shared with junior player. He
Jimmy Connors. He is was still adjusting
generally considered to be his game and playing
one of the greatest tennis at higher age groups
players of all time. to train himself
“I let my racket do the talking. That's
what I am all about, really. I just go out
and win tennis matches”.

Sir Frank Worrell play was sheer
poetry. He was the artist with the
most style and elegance and never
made a crude or an ungrammatical
stroke. He was a happy man, a
good man and a great man.
Born August 1, 1924, in Barbados died
of leukaemia at the age of 42,
Though he made his name as a player
his greatest contribution was to destroy
for ever the myth that a coloured
cricketer was not fit to lead. Once
appointed captain, he ended the cliques
and rivalries between the players -
Barbadians, Trinidadians, Jamaicans
and Guyanans. Worrell cut across all
that to weld together a team which in
the space of five years became the
champions of the world.
He did more than any other of his
countrymen to bind together the new
nations of the Caribbean and establish
a reputation for fair play throughout the
world. Never before had a cricketer
been honoured with a memorial service
in Westminster Abbey.
 A gentleman to the core
who played by the rules. It
did not matter to him if
playing by the book meant
losing.
Test cricket records
In 1958 an incredible 365
runs (not out) in 614 minutes
which stood for 36 years as
the highest individual Test
score ever made

In 1968, Sobers became the

first ever batsman to hit six
sixes off one over of six
In 1975, Queen Elizabeth awarded Sobers a consecutive balls in first-
knighthood for his services to the sport. class cricket.

In 2000, Gary Sobers was named as one of He scored a then-record

the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. 8032 runs in his career.
 Jack Nicklaus
Nicklaus has a genuine love for golf and
still competes on the Seniors Tour and
other tournaments. Even in 1997, he
competed in the US Open knowing that
young blood would take the title. Nicklaus
devotes much of his time to golf course
design and operates one of the largest golf
design practices in the world.
Nicklaus (born January 21,1940) is
considered be the greatest golfer
of the modern era and arguably
the greatest in the game's history.
Among his countless victories are
a record 18 Majors. He won the
Open 3 times, the US Open 4
times, the PGA Championship 5
times and the Masters a record 6
times.
He served on 8 Ryder Cup squads
and was voted US PGA Player of
the Year 5 times. Among his
countless awards, he was voted
Golfer of the Century by American
sports writers in 1986. Basically,
Nicklaus has won everything in
golf and has had every honour
bestowed on him.

"The entire team sat around a
miniature hockey ground and
planned every move. Very often the
coach never came into the picture."
Leslie Claudius In a land of 1 billion where
a single Olympic medal of any hue in would
send us into paroxysms of delight, the quiet
man who created a world record by playing
in four consecutive Olympics will never tell
you that he has four. Gold 1948, gold 1952,
gold 1956, silver 1960.
"Hockey is not worthwhile seeing if
he is not playing". - London Times
He got married on the condition that the
game came first. When his first son was
born he left on tour.
"There is no finish line, you can always
learn" and "You have to keep pressure
on yourself, you have to work on your
weaknesses".
."
 Michael Jordan - Born in Brooklyn, New
York on February 17, 1963.
Led the US Men's Basketball Team to an Olympic
Gold Medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los
Angeles.
On Oct. 26, 1984, in first game he played as a pro
against Washington, he turned out to be an
immediate impact in the league and proved that he
belonged among the elite players. He finished the
season as one of the top scorers in the league,
averaging 28.2 points per game.
After that he led the Bulls to their first of three
consecutive NBA Championships in 1991, 1992,
and 1993.
In the 1992 summer, Olympics when for the the first time the professional NBA players
were allowed to compete in the Olympics. Michael scored 12.7 points per game as the
USA Dream Team went 6-0 to win the gold medal.
On January 4, 2002 he achieved another greatest moment in his life, scoring his
30,000th career point against his former team, the Chicago Bulls. He ended his career
with 32,292 points and a career average 30.12 points per game.
In 1997-1998, Michael and Chicago Bulls continued their dominance and won two more
consecutive championships, becoming the first team in NBA history to repeat-the-three
peat (1991-1993, 1996-1998).
 Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis (born July
1, 1961) won 10 Olympic medals including 9
golds, and 10 World Championships medals,
of which 8 were golds. His 65 consecutive
victories in the long jump achieved over a
span of 10 years is one of the sport’s longest
undefeated streaks. from 1979 to 1996
He helped transform track and field from its
nominal amateur status to its current
professional status, thus enabling athletes to
have more lucrative and longer-lasting
careers.

Lewis dominated the 100 m, 200 m and

long jump events frequently from 1981 to
the early 1990s, was named Athlete of the
Year by Track and Field News in 1982,
1983 and 1984, and set world records in the
100 m, 4 x 100 m and 4 x 200 m relays.
Voted "Sportsman of the Century" by the International Olympic Committee and
being named "Olympian of the Century" by the American sports magazine Sports
Illustrated.
 Diego Maradona -Born October 30, 1960,
Argentine footballer came from poor beginnings.
During an international career that included 91
caps and 34 goals, he played in four FIFA World
Cup tournaments, inspiring the Argentina
national team to victory over West Germany in
1986, in which he collected the Golden Ball
award as best player.
Maradona's trademark move was dribbling full-
speed as a left wing, and on reaching the
opponent's goal line, delivering accurate passes
to his team mates. Another trademark was the
reverse-cross pass (shot behind the leg that holds
all the weight). He was also a dangerous free
kick taker.
He was a strategist, a team player, as well as highly technical with the ball, and could
manage himself effectively in limited spaces, attracting defenders only to quickly dash
out of the melee (as in the second goal against England), or give an assist to a free team
mate. Being short, but strong, he could hold the ball long enough with a defender on his
back to wait for a team mate making a run or to find a gap for a quick shot.
Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji (1872 -
1933) "Black Prince of
Cricketers". was an Indian
prince and Test cricketer who
played for the English cricket
team. He also played first-class
cricket for Cambridge University,
and county cricket for Sussex. His
name was very often shortened to
Ranji and he was also known as
the "Black Prince of Cricketers".
Ranji is widely regarded as one of
the greatest batsmen of all time,
Neville Cardus described him as
"the Midsummer night's dream of
cricket". He brought a new style to
batting: previously, batsmen
generally played forward; Ranji
played elegant strokes off the back
foot and his popularisation or
invention of the leg glance is
famous. The Ranji Trophy cricket
tournament is named in his
honour.
 Lance Edward
Armstrong
b. September 18, 1971
United States
Seven-Time Tour de
France Champion

This feat was

accomplished several
years after brain and
testicular surgery, and
extensive chemotherapy
in 1996, to treat
testicular cancer that
had extended to his
brain and lungs.
2004 Silver Eagle Coin
Honoree-American
Hero Series.

•Lance Armstrong's War : One Man's Battle Against Fate, Fame, Love, Death, Scandal,
and a Few Other Rivals on the Road to the Tour De France
 •"Pain is temporary, it may last a minute, or
an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually
it will subside and something else will take
its place."[

Tour De France is the most famous and prestigious road bicycle race in the world. With the exception of
war years, it has been held annually since 1903. It is a long-distance stage race competition for professional
cycling teams, travelling through France and other countries over three weeks each July. The winner is the
individual who finishes in the least accumulated time.