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Dubai group to help Budhia

DUBAI — The Dubai-based Koohiji Group has set up a trust fund for the gifted four-year-old Indian marathon runner, Budhia Singh, who captured the world's attention by running a distance of 65 kilometres in just seven hours early this year.

The fund totalling Dh150,000 will ensure a secure future for Budhia by providing him with adequate money for his education and well-being, Koohiji officials said. To mark the occasion, the Koohiji Group invited the wonder boy and his coach and guardian Biranchi Das to visit Dubai during the city's Summer Surprises promotion. During his visit, Budhia visited MFC and Ski Dubai.

S.S. Rajkumar, Vice Chairman and CEO, Koohiji Group, said, "An exceptional talent like Budhia Singh needs to be nurtured. At the same time, he deserves to have the freedom to choose what he wants to do. It's up to him to decide whether he wants to pursue a career in athletics or not. We are providing him with the financial resources to ensure that he has a good education. If this includes winning an Olympic medal for India, so be it, but if his destiny lies elsewhere, then that too is his choice. There are no preconditions set for the funds."

The trust fund will be administered in conjunction with a charity fund formed by Priyabrata Patnaik, Chairman and Managing Director of the Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa, to help Budhia's family and the children of the Gautam Nagar slum area where Budhia grew up.

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