Indian student is world's shortest woman, Guinness says

Dec 16, 2011, 11:11 GMT

New Delhi - An Indian student measuring 62.8 centimetres was Friday confirmed as the world's shortest living woman by the Guinness World Records.

Jyoti Amge was given the title by Guinness officials at her home in Nagpur town, around 500 kilometres east of the financial hub of Mumbai, the organization that monitors the world's records posted on the micro-blogging site Twitter.

Ranked the world's shortest female teenager before coming of age, Amge is around 7 centimetres shorter than the 22-year-old US national Bridgette Jordan who had held the title since September 2011.

Amge grew just 0.85 centimetres in the last two years due to a form of dwarfism known as achondroplasia, Guinness said.

'I feel grateful to be this size, after all if I weren't this small and had not achieved these world records, I might never have been able to visit Japan and Europe and many other wonderful countries,' Amge, wearing a traditional sari, said.

No taller than the average two-year-old, Amge is described by Guinness as a 'budding fashionista.'

'Despite her small size, she has big plans and hopes to carve her career as a Bollywood actress and model,' the authority on record-breaking achievements said.

'Until then, like many 18-year-olds her first priority is her studies,' Guinness said.