Philippines teen is the world’s shortest man

London: A 17-year-old teenager in Philippines, who might only be slightly taller than a glass bottle, is all set to break big world records.

Junrey Balawing will soon be crowned the world’s smallest man, standing at a mere 22 inches. The minuscule man from Zamboanga del Norte is just the same size as a one-year-old. And when he celebrates his 18th birthday in June he is expected to shave five inches of the current Guinness World Record. He struggles to walk and can’t stand for long, but he looks forward to wearing the crown with pride. ‘If I were the smallest man in the world, it would be very cool,” the Daily Mail quoted him as saying His mother, Concepcion, 35, says she noticed something was wrong as Junrey approached the age of two but no doctor was able to help. “He was always sick and we noticed he wasn’t growing so we took him to see a doctor but they were baffled,” she said. When Junrey was 12 the family took him back to the doctor but their only advice was to take more vitamins, which the family couldn’t afford. “I would love to be able to work while my other children are at school but I can’t leave Junrey. He needs my care every minute of every day. “Junrey can only walk with some help and he can’t stand for too long because he’s in too much pain. But he loves it when I tell him he’s the smallest man in the world, he just smiles with pride,” she added. Based on the Guinness Book of Records, the current smallest man in the world is 24-year-old Niqo Hernandez of Colombia, standing at 27 inches. ANI