Milkha Singh is the only Indian to win a Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Track and Field in an individual event, in history! He accomplished this in 1958, when he won the 400m race. He also won Gold medals at the Asian Games in the 400m and various other international competitions. He also made the final of the 400m at the 1960 Olympics, just missing a medal by 0.1 seconds. His best time for 400m was 45.7 seconds, set in 1960 on a dirt/cinder track and it was the Indian national record for the next 44 years.
His story off the track is just as remarkable. He was born in 1935(some sources list 1929), in British India. During the India-Pakistan partition in 1947, his family was forced to move from the newly created Pakistan to India. His family refused and were as a result murdered by Islamic militants.