'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
This article is about a boy who is recognized as the world’s youngest marathon runner – Budhia Singh. Budhia, who became a superstar at the age of four, is now lost in the streets of Orissa. In the last seven years, his story has developed in ways no one could have foreseen. This is a journey of a boy, a journey which saw a child reach overnight celebrity status; it is an uplifting tale filled with hope and opportunity, and also of greed, corruption and broken dreams. Let’s take a look at this heart-warming story:
History
Budhia Singh was born in 2002 in a very poor family, so his mother sold him to a passing peddler for Rs. 800. He was taken in by India’s top judo coach, Biranchi Das, who spotted his talent as a runner and then began to train him. His stated goal was to train the boy as an Olympic marathon runner. Budhia came into the limelight when he ran a record-breaking 65 km from Puri to Bhubaneswar in the sizzling heat of May 2006 in just seven hours and two minutes.
By the age of four, Budhia had run and completed 48 marathons. Budhia’s running ability gave him instant celebrity status in the country and he also appeared in a number of television commercials that year. Budhia was also invited to inaugurate shops and unveil music videos. He was called the “marathon prodigy” and was also seen as medal prospect in future Olympics. But what transpired after that was a fall; a dramatic fall from the top.
Shattered dreams
As Budhia Singh became more famous by the day, a number of people started accusing Biranchi Das for exploiting the young child. The first one to come forth with these claims was Budhia’s mother. Yes, the mother who sold Budhia for 
800 accused Biranchi for torturing her child. The coach was then arrested on charges of “physically torturing” a minor but was soon released.
Then it was the turn of our very own Indian Government, the Government that never cared for Budhia when he was living in slums and in extreme poverty, the Government that never cared for Budhia when he was unable to get food even once in a day, suddenly started showing that they really cared for young Budhia. The State Government banned him from running marathons and in September 2007, Budhia was sent to the sports hostel. That was the end for the young boy. After that day he was never again seen running marathons or races.
After few months, in 2008, when Budhia was at the sports hostel, Branchi Das was shot dead in Bhubaneshwar. Budhia’s life changed forever from that day forward.
Today, Budhia is a boarding pupil at a government-run sports hostel in Orissa, where he is treated like any other child. Rupanwita Panda, who is the athletics coach at the hostel believes Budhia is “too young to run even 600 metres, let alone a marathon.” For her, he is no extraordinary child.
When asked in an interview about his diet at the hostel, Budhia said that he is not getting the proper nutrition at the sports hostel; when asked whether he wanted to continue his training at the sports hostel he straight away said “NO”. But unfortunately, he does not have a choice.
Days passed, months passed and now, seven years have passed and it’s a completely different story. Instead of following his regimen of long-distance running, Budhia now spends time in the classroom more than he does on the field. The only time he does get to practise is in the afternoon.
As per the rules of Government, he will not be allowed to participate in long distance races till the age of 11. In Russia, Korea, China and Japan, they start training athletes at the age of three. As many people say, if you don’t take risks you don’t get results but this is not the case in India; here you have to wait till the age of 11 to show your talent. This is one of the contributing factors for the sorry state of Indian sports.
Budhia Singh, who should have been provided with better training from top coaches of the nation and moulded into an international athlete, is now nowhere near competing even at the district level. A boy who was completely different from the crowd has now been forced to become part of that crowd.
Still, it is not all over for Budhia; after all, he is only 10 years old now. He needs our support, he needs better training facilities, his economic condition needs to be improved and above all he should be provided with a coach and mentor like Biranchi Das.
It is very important to ask ourselves what steps we have taken to improve the condition of such sports people in our country. Do you really think that just criticizing such Government policies will improve the condition of sports in our country? Well obviously, the answer is no.
We can easily find a number of cricket or football academies in our city but how many athletics academies do we have? Wery few. So if India wants to win any Olympic medal in athletics, this is the precise time to prepare our athletes – with better training facilities and world class coaches.
Inspired by a story in the Indian Express
