5 Incredible lesser-known records that may never be broken

They say ‘Records are meant to be broken’. Really? Some athletes set a benchmark so high that it takes more than an herculean effort to try and surpass it. These incredible sportsmen and women settled for nothing less than the first place on the podium and have left us applauding their great achievements.Let us take a look at some of these relatively unknown records set by these remarkable athletes.

#5 Indian Kabaddi Team - Unbeaten in 5 World Cups

The traditional sport of Kabaddi has won many laurels for India over the years. However, no achievement can match that of winning all the 5 World Cups without losing a single game in the tournament. Yes. Indian team has defended its title successfully for over a decade now.

The 2014 final was the closest one with India edging Pakistan by a mere three points. Other finals have largely been one-sided with India coming out on top quite comfortably.

India have also won gold in all the six editions of the Asian Games thus far. Iran gave India a tough fight last year, but Indian team scraped through the final with a difference of two points.

Indian women's Kabaddi team are also unbeaten so far at the World Cup and the Asian Games.

#4 Garry Kasparov - World No. 1 for 225 months

The record sounds staggering to say the least. Garry Kasparov was on top of the World Chess rankings for close to 19 years in a period that saw him dominate some of the best players of the time.

After becoming the youngest undisputed World Chess champion at the age of 22 in 1985, the Russian held on to the top ranking for 225 out of the 228 months between 1986 until his retirement in 2005.

That is not all. Kasparov won 15 consecutive professional tournaments and is a recipient of 11 Chess Oscars, both of which stand to this date.

Magnus Carlsen broke Kasparov's long standing record of 2851 ELO rating in 2012.

#3 Edwin Moses - 122 consecutive hurdles wins

American Edwin Moses is one of the most dominant track and field athletes in sports history. Moses was chosen by his country at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in the 400 m hurdles event. He reposed faith in the selectors by winning a gold in his first international meet and set a world record of 47.63 seconds.

Moses was beaten by West Germany's Harald Schmid the following year in Berlin. Moses avenged his loss to Schmid in fine style in Dusseldorf when he beat him by 15 m. There was no looking back for Moses as he was undefeated for the next nine years, nine months and nine days.

This incredible run saw Moses win 122 consecutive races, three World Cup titles, World Championships gold and an Olympic gold. The Ohio lad also broke the world record on two occasions during this period.

He is currently the chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

#2 Jahangir Khan - Unbeaten in 555 matches

Considered by many as the greatest squash player ever, Jahangir Khan epitomised consistency which any professional athlete would dare to imagine. Between 1981 and 1986, Jahangir won 555 consecutive matches and entered the Guinness Book of World records for achieving the longest winning streak by a sportsperson.

He won the British Open 10 times, a feat that is yet to be surpassed. The Karachi native became the youngest World Champion at the age of 17. Jahangir is also the first player to capture a World Open Championship without losing a game.

#1 Esther Vergeer - Unbeaten in 470 matches

The story of Esther Vergeer is truly an inspiring one. After suffering from Vascular Myelopathy, Vergeer was unable to move her legs when she was just 9 years old. She was not disheartened by this injury. It gave her more reasons to dream big.

She learned to play basketball, volleyball and tennis in a wheelchair.

She took up tennis at a professional level and winning became a habit for her. She was ranked World No. 1 from 1999 until her retirement in 2013. She won a total of 42 Grand Slam tournaments, 22 year-end championships and 7 paralympic titles.

Her impressive winning streak of 470 matches is quite remarkable considering how competitive tennis is at the highest level. She won 700 matches throughout her career and lost just 25.

Another interesting fact to note is that Vergeer was part of the Dutch wheelchair basketball team that won the European Championships in 1997.