14 DAY TRIAL // Compared to him, a bone crushing hyena looks like a child with the mouth filled with tooth decay. The Malaysian nicknamed "King Tooth" pulled a seven-coach train employing a steel rope clenched in his mouth, establishing a new record for the heaviest weight pulled with teeth.
Amid the grunting and gasping, Raja Gigi's (Rathakrishnan Velu) neck musculature contracted, dragging the 297.1 metric ton train over 2.8 m along the tracks.
"It went extremely well, he's broken the world record. The feat is expected to be recognised by Guinness World Records in two to three weeks after verification of the data," said Anna Chidambar, the manager of the 41-year-old Rathakrishnan.
Rathakrishnan, a strict vegetarian ethnic Indian, had managed also to attain the previous world record for the same category, dragging over 4.2 m (14 ft) a 260.8 metric ton train on October 18, 2003.
He had intended to pull the heavier train over 4.2 meters, but succeeded to move it only 2.8 m (9 ft) in the first attempt. The second and third attempts failed too, with moving distances of 0.73 meters (2.5 ft) and 2.48 meters (8 ft).
"We are slightly disappointed ... he would have liked to end up with a longer distance but at the end of the day it is still a record," said Chidambar.
The "King Tooth" thinks his performances can be partially attributed to a Hindu form of meditation, but also to exercising: he runs over 25 km (16 mi) daily, lifts weights up to 250 kilograms and also trains his jaws each day, starting his daily schedule at 4.30 a.m.
The pulling took place at Kuala Lumpur's historic railway station that marked Malaysia's 50th year of independence.
Before starting the attempt, Rathakrishnan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, putting the left index finger against his nose and the right one against his chest; after that he touched his forehead and the top of the head before sitting on the ground to begin the attempts.