Charles Borromeo was born on 1 December 1958 in the town of Devakottai, located in Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

His record time at the Inter-University Meet in 1978 provided him a ticket to the international arena, to represent the Indian universities at the 1979 Summer Universiade, held in Mexico City.

He topped the six-nation Athletic Meet in Mumbai, winning the Inter-State Championship at Kozhikode and won the Gold at the Pakistan National Games at Peshawar.

He won a Bronze at the Peking International Games in China and toured Germany representing the Indian athletic team.

Borromeo later represented India at a number of track and field meets around the world, including Japan and China, where he again won gold.