The Story Of Budhia Singh, The Boy Wonder Who Ran 48 Marathons As A Five Year Old

Rishita Das & Nitesh Raikwar
Rishita Das & Nitesh Raikwar
Updated on Jul 30, 2016, 14:49 IST-41.6 K Shares
Budhiya Singh Interview

When he was just 4 years old, he became the world's youngest marathon runner and now he became an inspiration for many. We are talking about wonder boy Budhia Singh, who entered the Limca Book of Records for running 65 kilometers between Puri and Bhubaneswar in just seven hours and two minutes in 2006.

Budhia Singh

proyecto40

As five-year-old, he had already run 48 marathons and in 2007, he was admitted to the sports hostel for better training. Today, as a 14-year-old he is known as a legend in his home state of Odisha.

Budhiya Singh

Indiatimes

Inspired by his story, the Indian film-makers have decided to make a film on Budhia (Budhia Singh: Born to Run) that will hit the theatres across the country on August 5.Meanwhile, Indiatimes got an opportunity to talk to Budhia and he gave some insights into his journey as a child marathon runner. What stood out was the fact that running never came to him naturally but as part of school punishment.

"When I was a kid, we were getting punishment. When I was running as a part of the punishment that time I didn't know that I would get so much publicity and become famous. And, when the media persons came to me for the first time, they suggested me, 'When you can run so fast, you should make it to the public,'" Budhia told Indiatimes in an interview in Mumbai.

Usain Bolt

AFP

Budhia's inspiration for making it big for India comes from the world's fastest man Usain Bolt, who will soon be seen sprinting in the Rio Olympics. "Whenever I see Usain Bolt running, the world recognizes him as he's running for his country. So, I also want to be like him and run for our country. My target is Olympics," he said.

Challenges That Lie Ahead

As a 5-year-old he made heads turn with his speed but a problem on his knee has hampered his speeds now. "In my childhood, I used to run at the speed of 60-70 kmph but now I run at 40 kmph because there is some problem in my knee and also due to bad training. So, if I'll get good training, I could run at 70-80 kmph," he said. 

He had earlier complained that he was not being treated properly in the hostel, where he was staying since 2007. After returning from Mumbai on Wednesday, Budhia's mother Sukanti Singh had said her son would not return to the sports hostel. She had also sought help for private training of her son to improve his performance in running.

"As I leave that place, I want a different sort of training like long distance training. I want a coach like a Virendra sir who used to train me personally and take care of my diet and nutrition. But here no adequate attention that's given by the coaches," he said.