Lofty ambitions for world's shortest man, Khagendra Thapa Magar

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Worlds smallest man

Meet the worlds smallest man, Khagendra Thapa Magar who stands at 2 foot 2 inches tall and is 19 years old.

Khagendra Thapa Magar visits Sydney's Opera House. Picture: Craig Greenhill Source: The Daily Telegraph

Khagendra Thapa Magar poses for a picture with Miss Nepal contestants. Photo: AFP Source: AFP

Joe Hildebrand meets with Khagendra Thapa Magar, the shortest man in the world, at the steps of the Sydney Opera House. Picture: Craig Greenhill Source: News Limited

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Khagendra is the world's smallest man, measuring a tiny 67cm in height. To put it in perspective, this is shorter than a typical tea-towel, The Daily Telegraph reports.

He is visiting Australia for the first time to raise awareness about sex trafficking and to seek donations for his foundation, which supports the disabled and orphaned in Nepal.

Since claiming the Guinness Book's shortest record, Khagendra has travelled the world. But jetsetting has its challenges when you're the size of a six-month-old baby, as he found out in a brush with NSW Police just after he landed on Friday night.

Police pulled over the car in which he was travelling for a random breath test and then demanded to know why Khagendra wasn't in a child booster seat. Only when his travelling companions handed over his passport to prove his age did officers let him go.

There are other problems, too.

Using public toilets, for example, is something of a challenge.

Khagendra was born with an extremely rare condition known as primordial dwarfism, caused by the inheritance of a mutant gene from each parent. Most of the time the teenager relies on his family to carry him wherever he wants to go.

But despite his size Khagendra says he has no complaints. "I don't really care about wishing I could be taller," he said yesterday. "I am just happy being who I am. My family loves me just the way I am and this is more important than anything else. I see myself as a unique individual."

To support the Khagendra Thapa Magar Foundation email: minrana711@yahoo.com