Budhia: What next?

Bhubaneswar, May 6: A team of doctors today postponed its opinion on possible damage to Budhia Singh’s health and his ability to run long distances even as his coach insisted on making the boy run for a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

“We are awaiting results of some other tests to form a final report. While some of the reports are within the normal range, others have shown slight variations,” said Sugat Kar, the chief medical officer of the city-based Capital Hospital, who heads the team of doctors. Kar also said some clinical suspicions were yet to be confirmed.

But Budhia’s coach Biranchi Das said he planned to take Budhia to London on May 15 where he was scheduled to run about five km to shoot for a documentary.

The child would run for three more events ? a run to enter the Guinness Book, the Olympics and the World Marathon, he added.

The team of doctors appointed by the Khurda District Child Welfare Committee had conducted electrocardiogram and X-ray as well as psychiatric and pathological tests on four-year-old Budhia to assess his capability to run long distances.

As the tests did not reveal any significant aberrations, the team was closeted with other doctors and sport medicine expert Manabendra Bhattacharya for nearly two hours today.

Bhattacharya said the panel could not form an opinion with the information it has gathered so far. “Let’s wait for two more days. But such a young boy should not run such a long distance.”

When the doctors suggested conducting an X-ray on Budhia’s hands and ankles to determine his bone-age, coach Das and Budhia’s personal physician Siddharth Mohanty opposed it on the ground that the child would be exposed to excessive radiation.

“It’s too much for such a child. We, instead, recommended a MRI be done on him,” Mohanty said.

An MRI test on Budhia’s joints and cartilages to estimate the amount of wear and tear caused by long-distance running could not be done today because of confusion regarding payments.

“We hope the district child welfare committee would pick up the tab. But there has been no such commitment from the committee. That has led to the delay,” said a doctor from the team.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today said Budhia is an extraordinary child. “But he is so young. His health conditions have to be kept in mind.”