422 backward walkovers in less than half an hour. Who does this? Well it’s not a tough task for nine -year-old Neelakandan, boy from Alappuzha. And rejoice, as he has found mention of his name in the Arabian Book of World Records for the same.
The record holder is a Class 4 student of Carmel Academy English Medium Higher Secondary School and the son of Mahesh Kumar, a former soldier. He is a native of Kidangamparambu in Alappuzha municipality and a disciple of Harikrishnan, the owner of the Ekaveera Kalaripayattu Academy.
“It was my desire to learn ‘Kalaripayattu’. But my parent wanted me to learn karate. I love Kalaripayattu a lot and I used to tell my son about the grand old martial art form and its merits. When Neelakandan attained the age of six, he expressed his desire to learn Kalaripayattu,” said Mahesh Kumar with joy in his eyes. Parents say that their son could attain this achievement only because of the training he gained under Harikirishnan.
No one around took his desire seriously. But then this little boy put in a lot of effort and practice to get the record in his name. He performed in front of the authorities of Arabian Book of World Records on December 13, 2020 and created the record.
This is not the first time that Neelakandan has achieved fame. He bagged two medals in the district-level Kalaripayattu championship in sub-junior category in 2018-2019 and three medals in 2019-2020 . He also represented Kerala in national-level in Silambam, Tamil Nadu’s weapon-based martial arts in 2018-2019.
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