From earliest times man have dreamed of traveling in space, exploring new worlds, reaching for the stars – an apparently impossible dream. Then rocket research which took place during World War II gave a great impetus to space travel for which rocket propulsion is essential. After many experiments the first major break-through came in April 1961 when a Russian, Yuri …

Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (born 7 August 1925) is an Indian agricultural scientist. He currently serves as a Member of Parliament from Rajya Sabha and is also member of the National Advisory Council. Swaminathan is known as the “Father of the Green Revolution in India”, for his leadership and success in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat in India. …

Mesut Oezil — The sigh of relief in German football was almost audible when Mesut Ozil made the step up to international class with a string of outstanding performances. At last, people said, the three-time world champions had a new “number ten”. And they were right: a sprightly and technically gifted playmaker, Ozil is the kind of player that does …

Maria Sharapova is the most dazzling tennis player who has ever stepped on court. Maria Sharapova was born April 19, 1987 in Nyagan, a town in western Siberia, where Maria parents, Yuri and Yelena, had fled from Belarus a year previous to let alone fallout from Chernobyl. Still too close to the calamity site, her family left their home as …

MC Mary Kom (Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom) was born on 1st March 1983 and was brought up in a poor family. It is impossible to imagine that Mary Kom would one day rise and become a World Boxing Champion. Her family background speaks a lot of how Mary overcame hardship and inconveniences and created a name for herself in the arena …

Luke Adams — Luke was born in Tanzania where his parents were medical missionaries. Shaving down before competition is a ritual Luke religiously adheres to. Competition Stats Australian Championships 5000 m walk: 1996 – 1st (U20) 10,000 m walk: 1996 – 2nd (U20) 20 km walk: 1995 – 1st (U20), 1999 – 3rd, 2000 – 4th, 2001 – 2nd, 2002 …

Lukas Podolski, born as Lukasz Podolski on 4 June 1985) is a Polish-born naturalized German footballer who plays as a striker for Koln and is a member of the German national football team. He joined 1. FC Koln in 1995 where he broke into the first team in 2003 and made 81 appearances for the club before moving to Bayern Munich. …

Kelly Holmes (born: April 19, 1970) is a British middle distance athlete. Regarded as the best female middle distance runner Great Britain has ever produced, she won gold medals in the 800 metres and the 1,500 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Early Life and Army Career Holmes was born in Pembury, Kent, the mixed-race daughter of Derrick Holmes, Jamaican-born …

Keisuke Honda is an indispensable member of Takeshi Okada’s team. A prolific midfielder who will turn 24 the day before Japan kick-off their South Africa 2010 campaign, he dazzled for CSKA Moscow in the deep waters of the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League, playing a critical role in their unforeseen charge to the quarter-finals. Honda started out at Nagoya Grampus, scoring …

Justine Henin (born 1 June 1982), formerly known as Justine Henin-Hardenne is a professional Belgian tennis player. At the age of 12 she lost her mother, who died of cancer. Her family is pretty numerous: she has also two brothers and one sister. Another child of her parents died before she was brought to life. The relationship with her father …