Orissa's marathon child Budhia Singh, who has run a distance of 65 km non-stop, today said he cherished a dream to win an Olympic gold for the country.
"My dream is to bring honours to my country by winning the Olympic gold medal," the four-and-a-half year old said after being given the first 'Embassy Little Star' award by Embassy Millennium School in Jaipur.
Budhia, who also featured in the Limca Book of Records following his unique feat, was brimming with confidence after running around Jaipur's Central Park unexhausted in front of students many time his age.
"They were all running behind me," he said later.
Budhia denied being tortured by his coach Biranchi Das, who is accused of making him perform beyond his capacity.
"He takes good care of me and does everything related to my health and diet," he said.
About his diet, Budhia said, "Besides rice, I eat raw eggs, milk, bananas, papaya, dates and cashews daily."
Doctors had suggested Budhia should control his running, saying otherwise it could adversely affect his health.
However, Das said Budhia underwent regular medical examination and his health parameters were perfect. There was no fear of any adverse effects on his health, he said.
Das also said since Budhia was under-age to be admitted to school, he had plenty of time to train.
"He does regular yoga, swimming and running. He runs for about an hour, covering nearly 10 km."
Asked how he discovered Budhia's talent, Das recalled, "He used to come to watch judo practice and once used abusive language on some children. I was annoyed and punished him by making him run around the campus.
"In the evening, I was wonderstruck to see that Budhia was still running, for more than eight hours.
"I then decided to tap his potential . I spoke to his mother about adopting him and she accepted the offer after I paid Rs 800."
Budhia is a cricket fan and like any child of his age swears by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
"Mote bat aau ball khela bhal lage aau mote Dhoni bhal lage (I like cricket and my favourite player is Dhoni)," he said in Oriya.
"I watch Oriya films and sometimes I see Hindi films."
Das said Budhia was a celebrity now.
"Once when we were in Mumbai, Shahrukh Khan called us to meet the little child but Budhia was reluctant because he had just returned from his running practice."
