He may look younger, but Dor Bahadur Khapangi is 17 years old. At a height of 73.43 cm (2 ft 4.9 in), he is the world’s shortest male teenager living.
He lives in the Sindhuli district of Nepal with his parents and siblings, who are all of average height.
According to his older brother, Nara Bahadur, Dor Bahadur was born on November 14, 2004, and “seemed to be like any other child.”
However, after his seventh birthday, Dor Bahadur stopped growing.
“At the age of 12 or 13, we knew that he would not grow,” Nara Bahadur says.
His family decided to pay for medical tests and treatments to find out the cause of Dor Bahadur’s small size.
Although the tests have not yet revealed the reason for his growth halt, Nara Bahadur believes his health is normal.
As you can imagine, being the world’s shortest teenager can be challenging.
Dor Bahadur cannot lift heavy objects and cannot walk for long. His mother carries him to school every morning, and a niece helps him home in the afternoon.
His family also dresses him and helps him eat his meals. After school, Dor Bahadur takes a nap and eats dinner.
Dor Bahadur doesn’t need his family’s help for everything, though.
He loves spending time outdoors and can do small tasks like feeding chickens.
Dor Bahadur Khapangi also likes to play with a ball his family gave him. Whether he plays alone or with the village children, Dor Bahadur always has lots of fun.
Normally, the children he plays with are around seven or eight years old.
Dor Bahadur Khapangi also has some older friends from the village, but they moved away to work or study.
Currently, Dor Bahadur hasn’t had the chance to leave the village to work on his future.
However, his family hopes that after achieving this Guinness World Records title, Dor Bahadur can continue his education and travel to new places.
