13 June,2011 07:55 AM IST | | Agencies
A teenager from a poor family in the rural Philippines has been declared the world's shortest man as he turned 18. Guinness World Records presented Junrey Balawing, who is 59.93cm (23.6 inches) tall, with a certificate at his birthday party.
Standing tall: Eighteen-year-old Junrey Balawing smiles with his father
Reynaldo (right) as he receives a certificate proclaiming him as the
world's shortest man from Craig Glendar, editor-in-chief of the Guinness
Book of World Records, in Philippines. Pic/AFP
Balawing stopped growing when he was two, his father said.He is more than 7cm shorter than the previous record holder, Khagendra Thapa Magar from Nepal, who had held the record since last October. Relatives say he has difficulty standing and walking, but the community was protective of him.
"Officially he is the world's shortest man," declared Guinness World Records official Craig Glenday in front of cheering relatives and friends at his birthday party in the rural town of Sindangan on Mindanao island in the southern Philippines.
Well-wishers, including politicians, presented him with cash gifts which his family said would add to their meagre savings. "Thank you to all of you for supporting my son, the world's shortest man," Balawing's father said.
Balawing blew out a candle on his birthday cake and said "I'm tired". His father said he had been a sickly child and doctors had not been able to say why he stopped growing.
Balawing -- who is about the size of a toddler and has a child's demeanour -- needs to hold onto something to stand because of weak knees. He was photographed propping himself up with empty Coca-Cola bottles, which were taller than his waistline.
Balawing's mother grew teary-eyed during the ceremony, saying she was happy with her son's instant fame.
Glenday said he was struck by Balawing's lively personality and constant smile. "Although he's short, he takes that in stride," Glenday said. "He has this cheeky smile."
His three siblings are all of normal size.
Unfazed
Nepal's Khagendra Thapa Magar, holder of the world record for being the shortest living man in the world, lost his title to the Philippines' Junrey Balawing. However, the parents of Khagendra have said they are not unhappy to hear the news that somebody has taken over the title from their son. "Not necessary, Khagendra should always be the world's shortest man," his father Rup Bahadur Thapa said. He rued that the government has not done enough to recognise his son.
