English Original
Marathon boy, four, runs into storm of exploitation claims
For his armies of cheering fans in India's slums, he is a small but nimble miracle, destined to run his way into history as one of the world's greatest athletes.
Budhia Singh, a four-year-old urchin, can complete a 26-mile marathon faster than many runners who are twice his height and many times his age.
But just as fame and fortune beckon - and a trip to Britain to star in a television documentary - doctors who have examined the child phenomenon have laid down an early finishing line to his career.
Alarmed at television footage of him collapsing in the final stages of a record-breaking 43-mile run, Indian health officials ordered police to take him into hospital on Friday for tests to see if the intense exercise was damaging his young body.
Results delivered yesterday confirmed those fears - with doctors warning that he will soon be a physical wreck.
"Making a child this age run marathons on a regular basis will lead to him being physically burnt out in a few years", said Dr Manabendra Bhattacharya of the Sports Authority of India, who discovered that Budhia had abnormally high pulse and blood pressure readings. "It's not desirable to submit such a young body to so much stress and strain. Those who think they're doing the child a service by promoting him to run such long distances are causing him terrible damage."
Budhia - hailed as the world's youngest marathon runner, although he has no birth certificate to prove his age - is now the subject of a legal wrangle between the state authorities and his coach, who stands accused of exploiting and maltreating the boy.
The controversy is being played out amid huge media interest in the boy's story, a tale of rags to riches that has transfixed the Indian public. The son of an illiterate dishwasher mother and an alcoholic beggar father, Budhia was sold for 800 rupees (£10) to a street hawker after his father died three years ago.
His physical stamina was spotted by a judo coach, Biranchi Das, who caught him bullying another child near his club one day and ordered him to run round an athletics track as a punishment. When he returned five hours later, expecting the child to be long gone, he found him still doing laps.
Since then Mr Das, who claims to have legally adopted him, has been training him up, feeding him a high-protein diet of meat, eggs, milk and soya beans. He runs up to 20 miles every second day, and has taken part in six big races, bringing offers of lucrative sponsorship deals, according to Mr Das.
But his achievements have been less well received by some government officials, who are anxious to counter India's image as a country that turns a blind eye to child exploitation. Pramila Malik, a minister of state for women and child welfare, accused Mr Das of turning the boy into "a performing monkey".
Mr Das, 39, said that he was making no money out of Budhia and insisted he only had the child's interests at heart. "I have a doctor check on him every few days and he's fine," he said.
He has the backing of Budhia's mother, Sukanti Singh, 35, and her son is likewise unconcerned. "I love running, I never get tired," he said.
Budhia is due to fly to London on May 15 at the behest of British-based Touch Productions, which is making a documentary about him for Five and the Discovery Channel. Touch says that it is paying the expenses of the trip but that no fee is being paid to the boy, his mother or carers.
British experts sided with Dr Bhattacharya. Richard Godfrey, a sports science lecturer and former chief physiologist at the British Olympic Medical Centre, said: "This lad will probably stop growing soon because the impact from his running will have damaged the ends of his bones."
Malcolm Brinkworth, the executive producer of Touch Productions, stressed that the health concerns would be raised. "We are making an objective documentary, looking very carefully at the issues involved. We're not trying to be part of any process of exploiting this child," he said.
中文翻译
四岁马拉松神童深陷剥削指控风暴
在印度贫民窟中众多兴奋的仰慕者看来，他是一个身材矮小但动作敏捷的奇迹，注定会作为世界上最伟大的运动员之一跑进历史。
四岁的流浪儿布迪亚·辛格，能比许多身高是他两倍、年龄是他数倍的跑者更快地完成一场26英里的马拉松。
然而，正当名利在招手——还有一次前往英国出演电视纪录片的机会——为这位儿童奇才做过检查的医生们，却提前为其运动生涯划上了句号。
印度卫生官员对电视画面中他在一次破纪录的43英里跑最后阶段倒下的镜头感到震惊，于周五命令警方将他送往医院进行检查，以确定这种高强度运动是否正在损害他幼小的身体。
昨天公布的检查结果证实了这些担忧——医生警告说，他的身体很快就会垮掉。
印度体育局的马纳本德拉·巴塔查里亚博士发现布迪亚的脉搏和血压读数异常偏高，他说：“让这个年龄的孩子定期跑马拉松，会导致他在几年内身体被彻底拖垮。让如此年幼的身体承受如此大的压力和负担是不可取的。那些认为通过鼓励他跑这么长的距离是在为孩子服务的人，正在对他造成可怕的伤害。”
布迪亚——被誉为世界上最年轻的马拉松跑者，尽管他没有出生证明来证实年龄——现在成了州政府当局与其教练之间法律纠纷的焦点，教练被指控剥削和虐待这个男孩。
这场争议正在媒体对这个男孩故事的巨大关注中上演，一个从赤贫到暴富的故事让印度公众着迷。布迪亚的母亲是文盲洗碗工，父亲是酗酒的乞丐。三年前父亲去世后，他被以800卢比（10英镑）的价格卖给了一个街头小贩。
他的身体耐力被柔道教练比兰奇·达斯发现。一天，达斯在俱乐部附近抓到他欺负另一个孩子，便罚他绕着田径跑道跑步。五小时后，当达斯回来，以为孩子早就跑掉时，却发现他仍在绕圈跑。
据达斯先生说，自那以后，声称已合法收养他的达斯先生一直在训练他，给他喂食肉类、鸡蛋、牛奶和大豆等高蛋白饮食。他每隔一天就跑20英里，并参加了六场大型比赛，带来了利润丰厚的赞助交易机会。
但他的成就并未得到一些政府官员的认可，他们急于改变印度作为一个对剥削儿童视而不见的国家的形象。妇女和儿童福利部国务部长普拉米拉·马利克指责达斯先生把这个男孩变成了“一只表演的猴子”。
39岁的达斯先生说，他没有从布迪亚身上赚钱，并坚称他心中只有孩子的利益。他说：“我每隔几天就让医生给他检查一次，他很好。”
他得到了布迪亚35岁的母亲苏坎蒂·辛格的支持，她的儿子也同样不担心。“我喜欢跑步，我从不觉得累，”他说。
布迪亚应英国Touch Productions公司的要求，将于5月15日飞往伦敦，该公司正在为第五频道和探索频道制作一部关于他的纪录片。Touch公司表示，他们支付此次旅行的费用，但不会向男孩、他的母亲或监护人支付任何费用。
英国专家支持巴塔查里亚博士的观点。英国奥林匹克医学中心前首席生理学家、运动科学讲师理查德·戈弗雷说：“这个小伙子可能很快就会停止生长，因为他跑步产生的冲击力会损伤他的骨骼末端。”
Touch Productions的执行制片人马尔科姆·布林克沃思强调，健康问题将被提出讨论。他说：“我们正在制作一部客观的纪录片，非常仔细地审视所涉及的问题。我们不想成为任何剥削这个孩子过程的一部分。”