Karnataka - Mysore   

Five-year-old limbo skater slides under 10 cars

— Photo: M.A. Sriram

Skating wonder: Shibani M. Nayak emerges successfully after passing under 10 cars parked beside each other, in Mysore on Wednesday.

MYSORE: A five-year-old limbo skater from Mysore successfully passed under 10 cars at the Ramakrishna Nagar Double Road in the City on Wednesday, eliciting admiration and surprise from the people gathered at the venue to witness the rare feat.

Though Shibani M. Nayak, an upper kindergarten (UKG) student of Vijaya Vittala Vidya Shala in Mysore, planned to zip under 20 cars, the steady drizzle and slippery surface put paid to her preparations. But, the tiny tot did well to pass under 10 cars in the inclement weather and slippery surface. The five-year-old girl, wearing roller-skates, arrived at the spot wearing safety knee-pads and protective gear on her cheeks to safeguard her for possible injuries. She began to warm up by passing under three cars effortlessly initially.

Later, the number of cars lined up for Shibani was increased to five and nine. Finally, she passed under 10 vehicles, all of them Tata Indica cars provided by a travel agency.

Shibani had been practicing for the event by passing under a rod, which measured 6 inches from the ground. The Tata Indica cars under which Shibani zipped on Wednesday morning had a clearance of about 8 inches from the ground.

Even as she received a standing ovation for passing under 10 cars lined next to each other, the organisers decided to call it off owing to a steady drizzle.

According to Shibani’s father, T.N. Mallesh Kumar, his daughter started skating when she was three years old. “She is very confident and positive and had a passion for skating right from the day she started. She practices for two hours a day,” he said.

Shibani, who practices under the watchful eyes of former national skater Srikantha Rao, has already cleared a rod of 6 inches in height.

But, she is aiming to skate under a 5.74 inch-high rod, which is a world record. Shibani’s father said another aim of the five-year-old skater is to pass under 54 cars and break the existing world record of 50 cars. “She will be trying for that in the next few months”, he added.

Shibani has also taken part in several state and district-level skating contests and has won a number of awards including the Balaprathibe award and Youngest Skater award.

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