Naib Subedar Azad Singh of Indian army travelled 45.64km to break the Guinness World Record of travelling the farthest distance balancing a football on the head.
The earlier record had seen Bangladesh’s Abdul Halim covering 15.2km distance balancing a football on the head at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on October 22, 2011.
Times of India reported 45-year old Azad completed the distance on Tuesday in Goa starting his walk balancing a football on his head at 5.30am to reach the flag-in at 2pm.
Halim expressed his surprise hearing the distances that Azad covered and congratulated the new world record holder.
‘No records are unbreakable and I congratulate him [Azad] for his record,’ Halim told New Age on Wednesday. ‘But I am really surprised to know that he covered more than 45km distances.’
Azad also admitted that Halim inspired him to set that kind of record.
‘I learnt that Abdul Halim from Bangladesh had achieved this feat by walking 15.2 km,’ Azad told Times of India after he set the record.
‘Then on, I begun practicing ten hours a day to try and break Halim’s record,’ he added.
‘It all feels like an unbelievable dream,’ says Azad, ‘but if you set your mind to something, one can achieve their goal.’ Azad quoted.
Sharing his experience of having achieved his goal, Azad informed that the first 15 kms stretch was a piece of cake.
‘Since I started at 5.30am, the route was windless and traffic free. So, up till the Goa University was really easy, but once I started walking beyond that, the forces of nature started to affect me,’ he said.
Halim, who is hailed from Magura, claimed that he is capable of reclaiming his record.
‘I have already planned to set another record. If I get some support from the government, I can set up five more records’ he said.
-With New Age input
