Little Nandan sets record in side sit-ups

7-year-old clocks 76 side sit-ups in one minute

Like a well-oiled machine, little Nandan swayed from side to side in feather-light ease, doing 76 side sit-ups in one minute. The smile on his face testified his graceful entry into the India Book of Records for maximum handsfree side sit-ups in a minute by a child.

Seven-year-old M.M. Nandan, a student of Bappuji English Medium School, Parali, is the youngest record holder in kung fu side sit-ups. District Police Chief P.S. Sabu felicitated him and presented him with the medallion and the certificate of the India Book of Records last week. Nandan has been training in kung fu, yoga, and skating for the past several months. “I want to become a soldier. The Army is my dream,” the little boy said with a flash of determination in his eyes. Having done 76 side sit-ups in a minute, Nandan is now aiming for the Guinness World Records. “In fact, he is capable of doing up to 80,” said his father M.K. Mukesh, who runs an agricultural implements forging unit at Parali.

Dreaming big

“I want to learn kung fu from China,” Nandan said. Side sit-ups apart, he is also focussing on Chakrasana, a back-bend position in yoga in which the practitioner touches the ground with their feet and hands. He could do more than two dozen Chakrasanas in a minute. “That is a potential record. We are planning to approach the Guinness World Records,” said Mr. Mukesh.

Nandan’s elder brother Kannan is a State shooter.

A Class 8 student of the same school, Kannan is training with the aim of reaching the national championship.