Milkha to give Rs one lakh to KM Binu

KM Binu would be getting an award for setting a new national record of 45.48 during his seventh place finish in the men's 400 metres at Athens.

India's KM Binu would be getting an award of Rs one lakh from Milkha Singh for setting a new national record of 45.48 during his seventh place finish in the men's 400 metres at Athens Olympics.

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Nearly three decades back, Milkha Singh had announced to give Rs one lakh to the athlete who would break his record of 45.73 set in 1960 Rome Olympics.

"Yes, I will give the money to Binu once he returns from Athens," the legendary quartermiler said.

Milkha said he was happy to see the young athlete break his record and he would be organising a function to honour Binu.

Binu made the record in the first round of the event in the Olympics for a place in the semifinals. The 24-year-old, however, failed to qualify for the final.

The only Indian men to have figured in an Olympic track final are Milkha Singh, GS Randhawa (1964) and Sriram Singh (1976).