GUWAHATI: A little girl in Assam is found to be a born marathoner.
Quite naturally, she is seen to be the next Hima Das. Geetanjali Barua is just five years old and runs 15 km non-stop every morning.
Like for the Karnataka bull race champion, Geetanjali too is a gift of the media which spotted her.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and people at large have responded quickly and generously.
Help, in terms of cash and kind, is pouring in for the child who hails from a poor family in Jorhat district.
Her talent has also drawn the attention of Sonowal who said, “She has a lot of talent. The state government will extend all support to her”.
Geetanjali’s father, Mantu Barua, said she loves to run.
“She has been running 15km marathon every day for the past one year,” he said.
At Sonowal’s instruction, an additional deputy commissioner (additional district magistrate) and the district sports officer visited her house on Thursday evening.
The ADM, Damodar Barman, said they visited the house to get an idea on how she trains, her diet and other aspects.
Member-secretary of the state-level advisory committee for student and youth welfare, Lakhya Konwar, said it was satisfying that a lot of people were coming forward to help the child.
He said it would encourage other budding sportspersons as well.
“We are trying to find out how she trains and if she has access to the required training facilities. We believe proper and scientific training, along with nutritious food, will take her a long way,” Konwar said.
“She is a special child, for it is not easy for anyone, let alone a five-year-old, to run 15km. If need be, we will bring her to Guwahati so she could undergo advanced training,” he added.
Amidst the hype around Geetanjali, a sports medicine doctor said efforts should be made to ensure that the child is not overloaded.
“Unless I look at her and examine how much load she can withstand at this age, it will be very difficult to say about her. Her growth is yet to be completed. Maybe, she is blessed with some natural and endurance power. However, we must also ensure that she is not overloaded,” the doctor, Dipankar Bhattacharya who is serving as a general manager in Oil India Limited, told this newspaper.
Probably, she has some capacity but this needs to be explored scientifically and gradually.
Otherwise, there could be untimely stoppage of the activities.
The human body has its limitations. She has to be evaluated physically and mentally, he added.