Eight km is not much of a distance for this five-year-old

Madurai, Mar 18 (UNI) For five-year-old Sivasree of this temple town, its become a part of her daily routine to run eight km every morning.

Infact in an attempt to enter the Guinness book of records, she has recently covered a distance of 29.4 km non-stop.

She begins her regular jogging from her residence at Villapuram and ends at Teppakulam, the temple tank close to the Vaigai river bank.

''It all started on August last when I asked her to run to a nearby relative's house, about one km away,'' recalled her father Sundaramurthy, who used to accompany his daughter in her daily-run.

''Realising her potential, I encouraged her and within a fortnight she was able to run up to 8.7 km and by two months, she could run 20 km in 2.10 hrs,'' he added.

But for the father and the child, the it was not too easy. A few hurdles hindered their smooth cruise.

There was criticism from every corner that the child was being forced to perform high physical task at a young age.

Sports administrators too casted apprehensions. Initially, the police denied permission to hold the event for the Guinness record on the ground that it would be in violation of child rights.

But with Madurai Bench of Madras High Court granting permission to hold the event, Mr Sundaramurthy is a much relieved man.

A former state Kho Kho player and presently a coach, training both girls and boys in Kho Kho and Table Tennis, Mr Sundaramurthy said he was very much determined to make his daughters achieve what he could not in the sports.

''She has never shown a sign of fatigue. The medical reports on my child's health never showed any adverse aspect. She is provided a diet, recommended by the doctors of a corporate hospital here,'' he said.

Besides skipping, Sivasree is interested in swimming and cycling. Recently, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had directed the District Collector to bring her to Chennai at the earliest.

''Our family is happy for the Chief Minister's assurance that the government will provide necessary assistance to the child.'' Undeterred by the controversy generated by Buddhia Singh of Orissa, the 35-year-old Sundaramurthy, running his own screen-printing business, expressed his dream of making his daughter win an Olympic gold for the country.

UNI