The Karnataka man recently covered the 125 metre-long Kambala track in just 11.21 seconds beating his previous record.
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Srinivas Gowda is a Kambala “Jockey” who set a new record by covering the 125-metre buffalo racing track in just 11.21 seconds. When calculated speed versus distance, he covered 100 metres in just 8.96 seconds and broke his own previous records. His previous record when calculated for 100metres was 9.55 seconds which he had set in the last year’s kambala race. Kambala is a spectacular sport and a great form of entertainment for the villagers. Over 45 different villages in coastal Karnataka celebrate Kambala race every year. It is known to be a rural sport event with elaborate planning and scheduling to accommodate competitions at different places.
A ‘Kambala Committee’ arranges races in several categories describing the outfitting of the buffaloes. The racetrack for this competition is made up of a slushy paddy field, and the buffaloes are driven by a whip-lashing farmer. The Buffalo owners and farmers take proper care of their buffalos and they are well fed, oiled and nurtured for the race in Kambala. The best of Kambala Buffaloes can cover a 125-meter race track in less than 12 seconds. The Kambala Jockey controls the buffaloes with a whip or ropes.
Srinivas Gowda first came into spotlight in 2018, when local newspapers had reported him to be faster than Usain Bolt when they calculated his speed versus distance. During the last Kambala race, Gowda managed to emerge as the champion, he bagged quite a few medals in the Kambala events organised by the district, Gowda bagged a total of 46 medals including 34 gold and 12 silver from 15 events.
Kiren Rijiju the Sports and Youth Affairs Minister had learnt about Gowda’s performance and decided that he should be looked at by the top coaches. But his efforts to get him on to the National level went in vain, Gowda reportedly showed no interest in taking part for the trails.
