World's shortest man dies at 27

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 18

The world’s shortest man, who could walk as verified by the Guinness World Records, died at a hospital in Nepal on Friday.

Born on October 14, 1992, Baglung district of Nepal, Khagendra Thapa Magar was 67.08 cm (2 ft 2.41 in) tall.

GWR recognises two categories for people of short stature – mobile and non-mobile – and Khagendra’s height made him the shortest living mobile man on the planet, just over 7 cm taller than Filipino Junrey Balawing, who measures 59.93 cm (1 ft 11.5 in) and who, owing to the medical condition osteogenesis imperfecta, is unable to walk or stand unaided.

Khagendra’s father recalled: “He was so tiny when he was born that he could fit in the palm of your hand, and it was very hard to bathe him because he was so small.”

He first came to the attention of Guinness World Records in early 2010 when he was measured by Records Manager Marco Frigatti on the GWR Italian TV show Lo Show dei Record and confirmed to be the shortest teenager (male) living.

He made his first appearance in the GWR 2011 book, alongside Jyoti Amge, the shortest teenager (female) living.

On turning 18 and qualifying for the adult record, Khagendra took the title from Edward “Niño” Hernandez of Colombia, a reggaeton DJ, who stands 70.21 cm (2 ft 3.46 in).

In 2011, he was appointed Nepal’s Goodwill Ambassador for tourism. The Guinness World Records last caught up with Khagendra in December 2018 to document a day in his life, including the time spent at his family’s shop, leisure activities such as playing guitar and travelling around his hometown on a motorbike with his brother.

According to friends, Khagendra had recently been struggling with heart problems, asthma and pneumonia. He was admitted to the Manipal Hospital in Nepal on January 16 and passed away at 3 pm local time on Friday.

Photo: The world’s shortest man who could walk died on Friday at a hospital in Nepal. Photo credit: Guinness World Records.