Akshay smashes record
Warragul's Akshay Palta worked his way into the record books recently after setting a new kid's world record for the most sit-ups in 30 seconds.
by Nicholas Duck
Warragul's Akshay Palta worked his way into the record books recently after setting a new kid's world record for the most sit-ups in 30 seconds.
Akshay, 12, managed to pull off 35 sit-ups in the allotted time, becoming the world's recognised top record-holder for boys aged 10-12 by Kids World Records.
A keen tennis player, Akshay was sidelined from the sport thanks to a scaphoid fracture in his left hand. When his family, led by his sister and role model Sanya, took up a push-up challenge, he decided to do the next best thing instead - sit-ups.
While he had previously done sit-ups as part of his training, Akshay quickly discovered just how good he was at them when they were his main focus.
"Instead of just giving up, I focused on building my core strength," he said.
"I was just keen to beat a record for some reason. I looked it up, I saw there's a record for sit-ups. I was like 'that's good, I'm actually really good at sit-ups so I can actually beat it.'"
With his whole family supporting him, Akshay quickly smashed the record and submitted the video for consideration before later finding out he was officially successful.
"My mum came to me with the wonderful news and my heart was beating so fast so I hugged her really tight," he said.
"My family supported me in everything I did so thank you to them."
Akshay's mother Veenu said doing things together was a big focus in the Palta family.
"Whatever in life they do, we do it with them. I think that motivates the child," she said.
Akshay is now already planning his next world record attempts, including the most sit-ups in a minute and the most consecutive sit-ups - where he hopes to nail the adult record as well as the kids one.
Beyond that, he's dreaming big.
"My dream is to become the best tennis player in the world one day and earn lots of money so I can donate it to the people who are in need of it. I'd like to thank God who gave me strength to achieve this, I hope I inspire others to work hard, stay active and never give up."
