As many as 39 nine sports utility vehicles (SUV) were lined up in the basement of a mall in the city for five-year-old S. Gagan, who was seeking to make an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records in limbo skating.
After practising for more than two years, Gagan, a LKG student in a private school, effortlessly glided under the row of SUVs, covering a distance of 69.2 metres, which was described by his coach, Yatish Gowda, as a new world record for the ‘farthest distance limbo skating under cars’.
Gagan, he said, had shattered the previous record of 48.21 metres held by Shreeya Deshpande of Kolhapur.
The large crowd that had gathered to see Gagan attempt the feat, cheered when he covered the distance in 29.8 seconds and emerged unscathed from the 35 centimetres of space underneath the SUVs.
As Gagan emerged from under the 39th car, his mother, Hema S., burst into tears. “I was very nervous and now I feel relieved”, said Ms. Hema, a homemaker.
Gagan’s father, Sathish G.R, who runs an washing machine service centre, too was ecstatic over his son’s feat.
“He has been working very hard. For the last two months, he has been practising here at the mall. I don’t think he understands the importance of his achievement. But some day, he will feel as proud as I am feeling now,”said Mr. Sathish, who had been accompanying him for practice every day.
During the trials runs before the “record-breaking” feat, Gagan had hurt his face. “He was taken by surprise when the gunshot was fired. He is not familiar with the sound (of a gunshot). He lost his focus and tried to stop. That’s how he hurt his face,” said Mr. Gowda. Yet, the injury did not deter the little champ from achieving “spectacular feat”, he added.
Mr. Gowda, who felt that Gagan’s achievement on Friday was just the beginning, said: “We will continue to train him and there will be more records in the future.”
The judges for the event will communicate the achievement to the authorities of the Guinness Book of World Records, he said.
Paavan Solanki, president of World Records India, who was present on the occasion, gave away a medal and a certificate to Gagan.
