Srinivas Gowda has unexpectedly become one of the most talked-about mans in Indian sports community. The Karnataka buffalo-runner’s instant fame arises from the fact that he has broken the record for fastest run in Kambala. Kambala is a locally popular, and widely obscure sport which features men sprinting with a pair of buffalos on slush tracks. The game itself is under the eye of media, albeit negatively, for the whips hit on the buffalos to make them run faster.
The 28 year old Gowda beat the Kambala record for fastest run as he reportedly completed 142 metres in just 13:42 seconds. As usual, comparisons to Track-and-Field great and short-term footballer Usain Bolt began and some users reportedly calculated that Gowda completed 100m in just 9:55 s, which is faster than Bolt’s World Record run of 9:58 s.
As social media buzzed with the new hot topic, Kiren Rijiju, Indian Government’s Minister of State for Youth Development and Sports, joined in, confirming Gowda as a top prospect. He said that he will invite Gowda for trial runs at SAI (Sports Authority of India).
“I will call Srinivasa Gowda for trials by top SAI Coaches. There’s a lack of knowledge in masses abt standards of Olympics, especially in athletics where ultimate human strength and endurance are surpassed.I’ll ensure that no talents in India are left out untested,” the minister declared. This is another example of Rijiju assuring help to obscure athletes after viewing their skills on social media. Recently, he invited Madhya Pradesh’s Rameshwar Singh after a video of him completing a 100m race on barefoot in 11s went viral.
Srinivas Gowda is however very grounded with all the hype surrounding him and with the comparisons to Usain Bolt. “People are comparing me to Usain Bolt. He is a world champion, I am only running in a slushy paddy field,” he remarked.
Did this buffalo racer from Karnataka just beat Usain Bolt’s world record for a 100m sprint?
