FULL NAME: Budhia Singh
GENDER: Male
BORN: February 2, 2002 in Bhubaneswar
FAMILY: Sukanti Singh (Mother) and one sister
HOME ADDRESS: Staying at Sports Hostel, Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar after being separated from his mentor Biranchi Das since September, 2007.
EDUCATION: A Class-IV student of DAV School Public School, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar.
THE RISE:
* Sold for a mere Rs 800 by his poverty-striken mother Sukanti Singh, Budhia was rescued and given shelter by judo coach and social activist Biranchi Das in 2006.
* Budhia entered the Limca Book of Records by becoming the youngest marathon runner at the age of four years and 82 days, covering 65 km from Puri to Bhubaneswar, clocking seven hours and two minutes on May 2, 2006.
* The child prodigy was invited to perform similar feat in several cities of the country and abroad.
* Donations or promises of it for the development of Buhia poured in from within and outside the country.
* Music video and documentary films were made on the life and achievement of Bhudhia.
* He received acting offers not only from Bollywood but also from Hollywood.
* Budhia`s running feat inspired many more children emulate it.
THE FALL:
* After completing his 60km run, which organised by CRPF Group Centre, engaging 1200 jawans as escorts, Budhia vomited.
* Showing concern for the misuse and commercialisation of Budhia`s talent Child Welfare Committee of Khurda district banned him from undertaking long distance runs and stopped him from participating in a 500-km walkathon from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata.
* He was forcibly taken for a medical test on May 5, 2006.
* Three days later, a government statement ordered that Budhia stop running until the age of 11.
* A panel of doctors, which conducted tests on Budhia, decreed that if Budhia continued to run, he may get arthritis, heart problems and suffer from stunted growth.
* Infosys chairman NR Narayan Murthy joined athletics legend PT Usha in condemning the attempt to make Budhia run 65 kms for the shake of record.
* On September 27, 2006, the Union Government made it clear that athletes under 16 years are not allowed to run in any competition for a distance of over three kilometres.
* On June 12, 2007, the child welfare committee summoned Biranchi Das to provide details about a draft of Rs 9 lakhs given to him by Dubai-based Kohiji Trust as a gift for Budhia.
* On July 27, 2007 Budhia was separated from his coach and mentor Biranchi Das.
* On the basis of a complaint filed by Budhia`s mother, Das was arrested and jailed for nearly a week on charges of physically torturing the minor boy.
* On December 18, 2007 Budhia`s mother filed an FIR at a local police station accusing Das of embezzling a huge amount (around Rs 5 crore) collected for her son`s welfare.
* Biranchi Das was shot dead at Judo Hall in Bhubaneswar on April 13, 2008.
* In September 2007, the state government adopted Budhia and made arrangement for his grooming at the Sports Hostel, Bhubaneswar.
* On December 17, 2010, both Sandeep Acharya alias Raja and his associate Akhaya Behera alias Chagala were sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment by Bhabeneswar fast track court for murdering Biranchi Das.
* A documentary funded by HBO & BBC was made on Budhia`s life, named the `Marathon Runner`, was released in 2011.
* A movie made by Odia filmmaker Soumendra Padhi name `Duronto` won the national award in 2016 for best children`s film.
* `Duronto’ was released for a larger audience re-packaged with a new title `Budhia Singh - Born to Run` in 2016.
* In `Duronto’ Manoj Bajpai played the role of his coach Biranchi Das and Mayur dawned the role of Budhia.
* Created hue and cry by failing to return to Sports Hostel, Bhubaneswar, after the end of summer vacation on July 4, 2016.
* At the Bhubaneswar Sports Hostel, he trained under woman athletics coach Rupanwita Panda.
PROFILE FIRST UPLOADED: August 31, 2011
PROFILE LAST UPDATED: July 12, 2016