Marathon child suffering abuse?

New Delhi - The guardian of a five-year-old Indian boy who runs 50km a day denied media accusations on Wednesday he was flogging him for personal gain. Biranchi Das said he was more worried about the health of his pupil, Budhia Singh, and was seeking medical advice to study the phenomenon that has created a stir across India. "We all know there is something wrong," Das told reporters a day after the tiny Budhia overcame heat and humidity to run a distance of 65km in seven hours from Puri to Bhubaneswar in the eastern state of Orissa. "I consider myself a sportsman and even I can't run 10km at a stretch. That is why I am looking for specialists to conduct tests on Budhia to see why this is happening. I want to consult as many doctors as I can," he said. Newspapers on Wednesday splashed pictures of the youngster on their front pages but headlines like "65km at five - isn't this child abuse?" indicated not everyone was excited by the feat.

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