Srinivas Gowda, the 28-year-old kambala jockey from Moodbidri, who created sensation for his record running at a race and was compared to Usain Bolt, will be coming to Bengaluru on Monday on the invitation of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.
Also, Mr. Gowda has asked for the assessment by the Sports of Authority of India (SAI) to be taken up only after March 10 when the kambala season ends, according to his trainer Kadamba. “Mr. Gowda is committed to taking part in some more kambala races till then,” Mr. Kadamba said.
He said that both of them will leave for Bengaluru on Monday morning. “We will meet the Chief Minister at 3.30 p.m.,” Mr. Kadamba said.
More prizes
Meanwhile, Mr. Gowda continued his winning streak in the buffalo race. In the two-day Surya Chandra Jodukare Kambla that concluded at Venur Permude in Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada on Sunday, he bagged first prize in three categories of races – Negilu Hiriya, Negilu Kiriya, and Hagga Kiriya.
“In the Negilu Hiriya race, my timing was 13.68 seconds (about 140-m long). I could not know the timing in the two other races,” Mr. Gowda told The Hindu.
V-P tweets
In his tweet on Sunday, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu said: “Kudos to Karnataka’s Srinivas Gowda for achieving a rare feat during a buffalo race and being compared to Usain Bolt. There is a lot of hidden talent in this country, which needs to be recognised, respected and nurtured to realise the full potential.”
Mr. Gowda came to fame by setting a record at the Aikala-Bava Kambala near Moodbidri on February 1 by covering a distance of 142.5 meters in 13.62 seconds.
