Wonder kid Budhia Singh on Tuesday entered the 'Limca Book of Records' by running a marathon covering 65 km distance from Puri to Bhubaneswar in seven hours two minutes.

The four-year-old was the first person to cover such a distance at such an young age. He was to cover 70 kms to CRPF Group centre in Bhubaneshwar from Lord Jagannath's Temple in Puri.

But after he entered the city, a huge rush of people, who started garlanding him, made him breathless. So the doctors advised him to stop the marathon and was taken in a car. By then he had covered 65 kms.

Amreen Toor, Assistant Editor of Limca Book of Records, said, "this will be a record and we will also treat it as a human interest story. We will highlight his birth and over the last four years." "His achievement was closely monitored from Puri to Bhubaneswasr and his profile will be given along with his feat to inspire the others," he said.

Budhia started his sprint at 0407 hours after taking the blessings of Lord Jagannath.

Considering that a full marathon is 42 kms, his is an unparalleled achievement, Toor said.

He was given a grand felicitation at Bhubaneswar. Sukanti Singh, Budhia's mother, she was delighted for her son.

"It was a great achievement", she said. State Sports Minister Debashis Naik was also present to receive him.

Earlier, he had run this distance from Puri to Bhubaneswar several times and other distance races in Orissa and outside the state. But he was never an official entry considering his age.

UNI