That record set on September 6, 1960, more than a dozen years before Paramjit was born, was finally pushed down from the numero uno spot at the Salt Lake Stadium this evening. The improvement on the Indian national record which Paramjit Singh has brought about today is miniscule, a mere three-hundredths of a second. But more than a record it is a mental barrier that Indian athletics overcome today.

While Paramjit has dreamt all his life about the record, his coach Harbans Singh had other reasons to ensure his ward went below that. ``This has been my dream since I was rejected by Milkha Singh in the coaches' selection in Punjab,'' said he, as an emotional Paramjit hugged him after the race.

Milkha'smark of 45.73 seconds which fetched him the fourth place in the Rome Olympics was indeed history, but it also reminded everybody of all that was wrong with Indian athletics. In fact, in an emotional moment, Milkha Singh had even promised a reward of Rs one lakh to the athlete who breaks his record.

For 38 years now, all stories of glory and apathy were linked to that mark. No Indian sports celebration is ever complete without Milkha. Now, even when his son, Chiranjeev has emerged as one of India's finest golfers, the father commands more attention than scion. Milkha was the perfect example of grit and determination -- which saw him overcome the tragedy of losing a large part of his family in the bloody partition at the time of India's Independence -- to become one of India's greatest athletes ever.

``Give me more races, give me more opportunities,'' lamented Paramjit minutes after clocking 45.95 seconds this July in Fukuoka, to become only the second Indian after Milkha to go under 46 seconds. Whileother Indian athletes rejoiced at his feat and officials patted each other on Paramjit's landmark race, the athlete himself was looking elsewhere: at Sugath Tillekeratne of Sri Lanka, who had won the race and clocked under 45 seconds!

``He (Sugath) and I were almost at the same level two years ago when we competed against each other at the SAF Games in Chennai in late 1995, but in the time since then he has gone far ahead. I have just come under 46 seconds but he is already under 45 seconds,'' said a serious looking Paramjit.

While other athletes, from India and other countries, were given chances to go and compete abroad, Paramjit stayed behind. Some AAFI officials would even dismiss Paramjit's capabilities when any comparisons were made between him and Milkha. While Tillekeratne went to Kuala Lumpur for the Commonwealth Games -- he won a bronze medal -- Paramjit was in a camp. Even though he was keen, the AAFI wanted him to stay in the camp to train for Asian Games.

Paramjit's coach Harbans said hewoke up this morning with the feeling that his ward would break the record today. This despite Paramjit having been troubled by niggling injuries of late. Some small injuries and lack of track work were partly responsible for his indifferent form after Fukuoka. He even lost to colleague Jata Shankar in the Police meet at the same venue last month.

``It is really a nice feeling,'' said Paramjit, who ran in lane three. ``I had aimed to break Milkha Singh's record by December this year. I am happy it came so early.''

Even in his hour of personal glory, Paramjit had good words for his rivals. He gave the other runners in the race part of the credit for the record. Lijo David Thottan of Railways, who also ran in the Fukuoka 400m final when Paramjit first clocked under 46 seconds, set the pace by taking the lead in the first 150m. In the last 20 metres, it was Jata Shankar of Police on lane six, pushing Paramjit to the extreme. Rama Chandran of Tamil Nadu also ran a good race. All four of them brought in sub-47seconds timings.

Jata Shankar, who had beaten Paramjit in the Police meet, took the silver with Rama Chandran earned the bronze and Lijo David was fourth. The race also raised hopes for the 4x400 metres relay team as the four of them consist the Indian team.

``I started well and had a good first curve, but I slowed down in the 50 metres after the initial 200 metres,'' Paramjit explained. ``In fact, I was feeling pretty good since the morning.''

Next stop: a timing under 45 seconds and a medal at Bangkok.