AGED just nine he was dubbed the “world’s strongest kid” — weighing a whopping 23 stone.

       But pint-sized sumo wrestler, Dzhambulat Khatokhov, would later suffer failing health, leading to his untimely death on the cusp of adulthood.

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       The little wrestler started training when he was just a tot, pictured here age 3 Credit: East2West 5

       By the age of nine, Dzhambulat Khotokhov dwarfed his friends and weighed 23 stone Credit: East2West

       Dzhambulat became a wrestler in his native Russia after shooting to fame at the tender age of three, when he was hailed as the strongest and heaviest child on the planet, weighing 7st 8lbs.

       At the age of six, the lad, whose classmates nicknamed him Gladiator, weighed 15 stone and wore size ten men’s shoes.

       By nine he weighed an astonishing 23st 2lb — more than the combined total of four kids his age.

       Before long his astonishing physique hit the headlines across the world and he took up sumo wrestling, becoming something of a celebrity in Japan.

       His first wrestling coach, Khasan Teusvazhukov, admitted it was hard to train him because of his size.

       And, he admitted he was cautious when training him, feeling he could do damage to the boy's young body.

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       But while he became a novelty, concerns grew about whether it was healthy for a child to weigh so much.

       Soon the media was dubbing him the world’s “fattest kid”.

       In 2009, he was examined by a British doctor Ian Campbell, who warned the lad's health was dire.

       He said: “His weight means he has a greatly increased risk of diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

       "As a result of being so heavy so young, his life expectancy is likely to be greatly reduced."

       During this time, the boy's mother Nelya, a nurse, hit back at claims she was neglecting the health of her child.

       "He is just growing — upwards and outwards. What can I do about it? This is who he is, this is how God created him,” she said.

       At birth, he had weighed a typical 6lb 6oz but by his first birthday, he was more than two stone.

       As a baby, his prams required reinforced wheels after five of them broke.

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       Dzhambulat wth his mother Nelya, a nurse, who hit back at the time at claims she was neglecting the his health Credit: East2West 5

       By his first birthday, he was more than two stone. Credit: East2West

       But his mum said doctors couldn't find any medical problem causing his excess weight.

       “We have been through various examinations. Every doctor wanted to find something to explain why Jambik is so big,” she said at the time.

       "None of them discovered anything. When he was five I took him to Moscow clinics where we did all the available tests, organ scans and tests on hormones.

       “But these showed he's absolutely healthy and his heart, liver and everything else is proportional to his size. They say he is healthy so I don't worry. I believe he'll live a long and happy life.”

       She angrily denied putting him on steroids, but encouraged him being called the “world’s strongest boy”.

       She hit back at her critics: “Do people think I am a killer? Can they really suggest that a mother can do this to her child?

       "Look at his medical record.

       “Do they think I started feeding him with steroids when he was two months old? It's preposterous. I love my son and I will not do anything to harm his health.”

       Do people think I am a killer? Can they really suggest that a mother can do this to her child?

       Dzhambulat Khatokhov's mum

       When he was young, his mother said: "He likes showing people how strong he is.

       “It makes him a kind of superhero, a giant who can protect and care for everyone around. He likes to lift me or his brother around the place."

       At the age of six, she said: "He eats normal portions, the same as his brother.

       “He might ask for more if he's really hungry but I never noticed he eats abnormally much.

       "Maybe he eats a bit more than other kids his age, but he is bigger than them though he never eats more than an adult man.

       "I can't say how it happens. He just grew bigger and bigger — upwards and outwards. God created him that way.”

       By 17 Dzhambulat had ballooned to 36st.

       Despite his fame and notoriety, he heeded warnings by doctors and decided to shed weight.

       Within less than a year he had lost 8st.

       Sadly, he battled in vain to lose the rest and aged 21 he suddenly died.

       While the wrestler’s cause of death has not been disclosed, reports say he suffered from acute kidney problems, which can be caused by extreme obesity.

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       .As a teenager Dzhambulat Khatokhov became a wrestler in his native Russia Credit: East2West

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