Kambala Jockey Srinivas's trial date yet to be fixed, to be given time for acclimatisation

Mangaluru: The actual date of trial for Kambala racer Srinivas Gowda, who has been called for an assessment at the SAI Center Bengaluru, is yet to be decided.

Sources in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said Gowda will be given time for acclimatisation before his actual trial. He is expected to reach SAI Bengaluru on Monday.

“Srinivas Gowda will be reaching SAI Bengaluru centre on Monday. He will be given a day or two of rest and acclimatization before his trial takes place. The date of trail has not been fixed yet,” SAI sources said.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju had on Saturday asked the top SAI coaches to conduct a trial of the 28-year-old Kambala jockey Gowda after video clips of him running a distance of 100 metres in just 9.55 seconds during a traditional buffalo race in Karnataka evoked a social media frenzy.

Gowda, a construction worker from Moodabidri, took just 13.62 seconds to run a distance of 145m, covering the first 100m in 9.55 seconds, at the Kambala at Aikala village near Mangaluru, prompting some on social media to compare him with multiple Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt, whose 100m world record is 9.58 seconds.

“I’ll call Karnataka’s Srinivasa Gowda for trials by top SAI coaches. There’s lack of knowledge in masses about the standards of Olympics especially in athletics where ultimate human strength & endurance are surpassed. I’ll ensure that no talents in India are left out untested,” Rijiju wrote on his twitter handle on Saturday.

Sports Authority of India (SAI) later said on Twitter that Gowda’s train tickets have been booked and he will be assessed in Bengaluru on Monday.

“We have reached out to #SrinivasaGowda and booked his train ticket. He will be in SAI’s Bangalore center on Monday where our coaches will assess him. We hope to identify and nurture more talents with inputs from all sports enthusiasts,” the SAI wrote.

Kambala is an annual race held in Karnataka where people sprint 142m through paddy fields with buffalo. During the race, the racers try to bring the buffaloes under control by holding their reins tight and beating them up, making it amply clear that the animal plays an equally important role in achieving the timing.

Traditionally, it is sponsored by local Tuluva landlords and households in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and business tycoon Anand Mahindra tweeted to ask Sports Ministry and Athletics Federation of India to take Gowda under its wings while some athletics experts were not amused at the feat of Gowda.

Athletics Federation of India (AFI) President Adille Sumariwalla said that he would be happy to take in Gowda if he is found to have the credentials to compete at the highest level after an assessment by the top coaches.