Shortest person to claim for another title in Guiness Book

KATHMANDU, Dec. 15 (Xinhua/GNA) -- An 18 years old Nepali boy who is only 50 cm tall has been recorded as the shortest person in the Guiness Book of World Record (GBWR) is about to claim for yet another world record.

In contrast to his growing age, the tiny boy Khagendra Thapa Magar weighs only 4.5 kg.

Born on Oct. 4, 1992 in a remote village of Baglung district, some 180 km west of Nepali capital Kathmandu, Khagendra is set to claim for yet another title in the GBWR for lightest person.

"We recently succeeded to register his name in the GBWR as the "shortest person" after Khagendra turned to be 18 on Oct. 4 this year," said Min Bahadur Rana, President of the Khagendra Thapa Magar Foundation (KTMF). "Though we are also asking for the lightest title, the GBWR has not given us with this record yet," he added.

According to him, the GBWR said that the weight is something that keeps on changing so that they cannot offer this title to Khagendra. However, they have vowed to propose this claim of him in the meetings and process of the GBWR.

The process of registering his name in the GBWR was carried out by the KTMF that was established in 2005 after Khagendra's name. The chairman of the foundation, Min Bahadur Rana, established the foundation and is driving all the process of registering his name in the Guiness Book of World Record.

The foundation aims to provide essential medicine and treatment for the disability of Khagendra and to arrange proper education to him. "The foundation was formed to provide philanthropic support to get Khagendra educationally, financially, mentally and socially rehabilitated," Min Bahadur Rana told Xinhua on Monday afternoon.

Though Khagendra has become a pride of the nation after being recorded in the GBWR, his father Rup Bahadur Magar worries about his son.

Khagendra who consumes normal food like everyone else in the family was only 600 gram when he was born, father Rup Bahadur Thapa Magar told Xinhua on Saturday.

"He was tiny at his birth, he began to move around only when he was eight years old and his physical growth completely stopped at the age of 11," he added.

Khagendra gets up normally early in the morning and washes his face, brushes his teeth himself which is not easy though and no one can be with him all the time, father Rup Bahadur lamented for his son.

He is not only worried about his daily performances but also his future, education, security and livings. It has been two years since Khagendra began to go to local public school called the Saraswati Boarding School of Pokhara in Kaski district, some 200 km west of Kathmandu.

"We live in Kaski district but usually come here in the capital to maintain the relation network. This time we came here to meet leaders of political parties, ministers and renowned celebrities," Rana said.

According to Rana, since the whole process began for the registration, the foundation had spent a lot for Khagendra's medical test and the documentation with the fund collected as donation. Even in the agreement signed between the foundation and the GBWR, it has been mentioned that the foundation has to bear the cost of their flights to London and their stay over there which will cost a lot to the foundation.

Concerned with the future of Khagendra, foundation chairman Rana said, "We are seeking support from the government, political parties, and elsewhere for betterment of him." He added that the foundation is seeking support for mainly three points. For the process of registering Khagendra's name in the GBWR in both titles, his security in future, lodging and fooding of him," he added.

"It is the pride of the nation that Khagendra has been recorded in the GBWR, but this is not over. We still have to go to London to receive the certificate of GBWR, plus we are planning to claim for another title, for which we need strong support from the nation."

Khagendra, together with his caretaker, has to go to the London office of the GBWR for final examination before registering his name in two different categories, the shortest and lightest man in the world. "We don't know on which date we'll go to London but we have to finalize the date within 15 days," Rana told Xinhua.

The foundation had applied Khagendra's name for the registration in "shortest man", a couple of years ago, but provisions of the Guinness Book do not allow the registration of less than 18 candidates in the world shortest person category. Now Khagendra is 18 years old but still he cannot process further as he and his supporting foundation lacks resources to fly to London. 15 DEC. 09