2.5-foot Nepali man declared shortest teenager on the planet

Kathmandu, May 24 (EFE).- An 18-year-old man from Nepal was recognized as the shortest living teenager on the planet by the Guinness World Records on Tuesday.

Dor Bahadur Khapangi, who measures just 2 feet 4.9 inches (73.43 cm), received his certificate from Nepal Tourism Board CEO Dhananjay Regmi at a program held in Kathmandu.

Khapangi was born on Nov.14, 2004, at Tinkanya village in Sindhuli district, around 130 kilometers (81 miles) southeast of the capital city of Kathmandu.

The youngest son of farmers Takkar Bahadur Khapangi and Rana Maya, Dor Bahadur is currently enrolled in a school near his village and lives with his parents.

“He is studying in the first grade,” Nara Bahadur Khapangi, Dor Bahadur’s elder brother, told EFE, adding that the new record holder is shy and talks less.

“Dor Bahadur was all fine when he was born. He, however, didn’t grow from the age of seven. His peers grew but Dor Bahadur didn’t. We don’t know why,” he said.

According to the Guinness World Records, Colombia’s 36-year-old Edward Hernandez, at 2 feet 4.39 inches (72.10 cm), is currently the shortest man alive (mobile), a record first held in Apr.13, 2010.

However, the title soon passed on to Nepal’s Khagendra Thapa Magar (2 feet 2 inches or 67 cm) and Chandra Bahadur Dangi – also from Nepal – (1 foot 79 inches or 54.6 cm).

Dangi was also the shortest male ever recorded when his height was measured on Feb.26, 2012.

Dangi passed away in February 2012 at the age of 75, and Khagendra in January 2020, following which Hernandez reclaimed his title as the world’s shortest man (mobile). EFE

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