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8 Child Prodigies From Odisha Who Have Even Made The Country Proud!
May we present some wonderful Odia kids, out of which few have turned into national celebrities and others have simply awed us with their talent.
1) Budhia Singh
Who doesn’t know this wonder kid now? With even a Bollywood biopic screened lately on this youngest marathon runner from Odisha, Budhia Singh has become a noted child with an extraordinary feat for his age. He holds a record of running 48 marathons including a 65 km marathon from Puri-Bhubaneswar in 2006, at just an age of 5. By earning a place in Limca Book of Records & also lauded with the Rajiv Gandhi award, we can only hope Budhia gets to shine even more in the years to come!
Pic Courtesy: alexmasi.photoshelter
2) Padmini Rout
Hailing from Bhubaneswar, Padmini started playing chess at a ripe age of 9. Her passion for winning is well known through the kind of national & International accolades that she has has won for herself & her country. Holding the title of Woman Grandmaster, Padmini has been really excellent in her moves. She was the winner of World Under-14 Girls’ Championship, 2008 and has even earned 5 Asian & 4 national titles!
Pic Courtesy: web64
3) Dipsan Tirkey
The current Captain of Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team is considered as the future of Indian Hockey. Being the youngest player to play in Hockey India League, Dipsan is well known for his solid defence skills in the turf. He has also been playing for Odisha based franchise Kalinga Lancers since 2014 and was featured in this team when he was just 14 years old. Moreover, he played a promising role in the Junior Indian Hockey team which won Junior Asia Cup in 2015.
Pic Courtesy:sportskeeda
4) Lalita Prasida Sripada Srisai
She was 13 when she hit the national & International headlines in September 2015 for her prestigious win at Google Science Fair in California. Belonging to Koraput district, her model of a low cost bio-absorbent based water purifier that functions mainly on waste corn cobs has been considered a highly visionary approach at the fair and elsewhere. Furthermore, the support from the organisation on her project might certainly benefit the rural areas in the upcoming times!
5) Ananya Sritam Nanda
Ananya has never been bogged down by failures. Rejected in the first season of Indian Idol Junior, she made a tough stand in its second season by graciously winning the show. A Rockstar of Sonakshi Sinha, Ananya’s epic moment was when she got to meet Narendra Modi personally once she was back from the show. Her welcome to Odisha after her legendary victory was of rejoices and pride!
6) Maraju Sumanth
Known for his whirlwind salsa, Maraju Sumanth of Bhubaneswar won the India’s Got Talent S4 at an age of 13 along with Sonali Majumdaar. Later, he was also seen competing with celebrities like singer Shaan, comedian Suresh Menon, TV actresses Drashti Dhami and Shweta Tiwari among others in Jhalak Dikhla Ja S6 and was highly appreciated for his excellent dance moves!
7) Chandan Nayak
His journey from the slums of Bhubaneswar to the prestigious Bayern Munich club in Germany has been simply remarkable. By defying all odds, this 11 year old boy is one of the top five junior footballers in India who will get to play in the elite German club. Chandan was spotted by his coach while he was imparting free football training to slum boys of Bhubaneswar. Being a fan of Lionel Messi, the kid hopes to bring laurels for the country & also act as a motivator for slum children to pick up football.
8) Meghali Malbika Swain
At an age when kids love to spin the globe, Meghali Malbika Swain of Bhubaneswar could look at it and give all information about countries, their capitals and currencies in no time. And, so when she was six, Meghali earned the title of Google girl of India. Now 10, Meghali has added another feather to her cap by entering the India Book of Records by naming 165 rivers of the world in one minute.