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Name: Budhia Singh. Age: 3 years. Achievement:
Can run close to 60 km in six-and-a-half hours.
This tot was much in the news in 2005 - on the television, in the
newspapers - for his astounding marathon run and his capacity to
go on and on. His coach, Biranchi Das, has dreams of getting his
protege's name entered into the Guinness Book of World Record and
has put little Budhia on a strict diet and a schedule according
to which a few kilometres are added to his marathon practice each
day.
But fears abound? Can the frail little body withstand the gruelling
regimen? Is his mentor being overambitious, and driving the child
so hard only to gather name and fame for himself? According to champion
athlete PT Usha running around 50 km so frequently could adversely
affect Budhia's health, in the long run.
Orissa's sports minister Debashis Nayak has tried to address these
concerns. He says the state is keeping a close watch and will not
let the child be exploited. Budhia's coach Das has also assured
that regular medical check ups are carried out to ascertain that
Budhia's health does not suffer.
And who is Budhia? Budhia is from Bhubaneswar. In 2004, he was
sold to a man for Rs 800/- because his mother, who washes dishes,
was unable to provide for four children, after the death of their
father in the same year.
It proved to be a turning point for Budhia. His talent was discovered
in the guise of a punishment meted out to him by the president of
the residents' association and judo coach, Biranchi Das. Das had
ordered the mischievous kid to keep running till he returned. To
his astonishment, when he returned after around four hours, Budhia
was still running, and showed little signs of exhaustion. Das took
him under his tutelage.
Since then little Budhia has not looked back...
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