India has a very poor record in the Olympics ....
... and in fact in Athletics and most sports generally. Its an odd fact that India's only track and field medals were won by one Norman Pritchard in 1900, who won two silvers at 200m and 200m hurdles .... he was ethnically white British, but was born in India, but the IOC recognise him as 'Indian'.
Now for a nation of over one billion people, and 5th biggest economy in the world by nominal GDP, to be so poor in an arena that all the other economic powers take so seriously, is something of a conundrum. However the wave of Indian nationalism that the BJP have unleashed, means that Indians will often make wild claims about Indian achievements, both in the past and in the present.
But perhaps the funniest in the last few years came very recently, when some Indian commentators claimed that an Indian farmer has run a new world record for 100 meters, shattering Usain Bolt's record.
Srinivas Gowda was taking part in a weird Indian sport .... no not Kabaddi or kite fighting ... but the equally weird sport of Kambala (which roughly translates to "paddy-growing mud field") which is popular in the the southern state of Karnataka. This involves people sprinting 132m or 142m through paddy fields with with two buffalo that are tethered together.
Mr Gowda apparently sprinted 142.5 meters in just 13.62 seconds or maybe it was merely 142.4m in 13.62 seconds (accounts vary), and this feat has been equated as being equal to 100m in 9.55 seconds to break Usain Bolts record of 9.58 seconds for 100m.
Prof K Gunapala Kadamba, president of the Kambala Academy, has warned against comparing him to Bolt. "We would not like to indulge in any comparison with others. They have more scientific methods and better electronic equipment to measure speed."
But that qualification fell on deaf ears and the hashtags #HumFitToIndiaFit and #Kambala were trending. Many people are pointing out that with two buffalo's pulling a man might well go a lot faster than normal, but others claim that as he was able to keep running and not be dragged, he must have been capable of the speeds.
Wisely construction worker Mr Gowda, has rejected an official offer by Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, inviting him to participate in national athletic trials by saying that "I have injured my leg and my focus is on Kambala. I am used to running with buffalo in the paddy fields."
He is however going to participate in forthcoming Kambala events, this despite the somewhat premature tweets of the Indian Sports Minister ... it remains to be seen whether this story runs any further.
The sport itself has had a chequered local history and in 2014, India's Supreme Court issued a ban on races with bulls, prompted primarily by campaigns against the practice of Jallikattu, a form of bull-fighting from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, while Karnataka's state court issued an interim order stopping all Kambala events. But in 2018, the state started allowing Kambala races to take part again with restrictions on animal well being.
Just for the record, the fastest Indian athletic runners in the 100 metres, without buffalo's, is 10.26 seconds ... I suspect Mr Gowda is somewhat slower than that without his 35mph (56 km/h) buffalo pulling him along.
 |
| 1900 Olympic 200 metre Final (Silver For India) |
... and in fact in Athletics and most sports generally. Its an odd fact that India's only track and field medals were won by one Norman Pritchard in 1900, who won two silvers at 200m and 200m hurdles .... he was ethnically white British, but was born in India, but the IOC recognise him as 'Indian'.
Now for a nation of over one billion people, and 5th biggest economy in the world by nominal GDP, to be so poor in an arena that all the other economic powers take so seriously, is something of a conundrum. However the wave of Indian nationalism that the BJP have unleashed, means that Indians will often make wild claims about Indian achievements, both in the past and in the present.
 |
| Local Press and Social Media Claimed 'A World Record' |
But perhaps the funniest in the last few years came very recently, when some Indian commentators claimed that an Indian farmer has run a new world record for 100 meters, shattering Usain Bolt's record.
Srinivas Gowda was taking part in a weird Indian sport .... no not Kabaddi or kite fighting ... but the equally weird sport of Kambala (which roughly translates to "paddy-growing mud field") which is popular in the the southern state of Karnataka. This involves people sprinting 132m or 142m through paddy fields with with two buffalo that are tethered together.
 |
| Kambala Is Unsurprisingly A Very Local Indian Sport ..... |
Mr Gowda apparently sprinted 142.5 meters in just 13.62 seconds or maybe it was merely 142.4m in 13.62 seconds (accounts vary), and this feat has been equated as being equal to 100m in 9.55 seconds to break Usain Bolts record of 9.58 seconds for 100m.
Prof K Gunapala Kadamba, president of the Kambala Academy, has warned against comparing him to Bolt. "We would not like to indulge in any comparison with others. They have more scientific methods and better electronic equipment to measure speed."
But that qualification fell on deaf ears and the hashtags #HumFitToIndiaFit and #Kambala were trending. Many people are pointing out that with two buffalo's pulling a man might well go a lot faster than normal, but others claim that as he was able to keep running and not be dragged, he must have been capable of the speeds.
Wisely construction worker Mr Gowda, has rejected an official offer by Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, inviting him to participate in national athletic trials by saying that "I have injured my leg and my focus is on Kambala. I am used to running with buffalo in the paddy fields."
 |
| Premature Tweeting By Indian Sports Minister .... |
He is however going to participate in forthcoming Kambala events, this despite the somewhat premature tweets of the Indian Sports Minister ... it remains to be seen whether this story runs any further.
The sport itself has had a chequered local history and in 2014, India's Supreme Court issued a ban on races with bulls, prompted primarily by campaigns against the practice of Jallikattu, a form of bull-fighting from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, while Karnataka's state court issued an interim order stopping all Kambala events. But in 2018, the state started allowing Kambala races to take part again with restrictions on animal well being.
Just for the record, the fastest Indian athletic runners in the 100 metres, without buffalo's, is 10.26 seconds ... I suspect Mr Gowda is somewhat slower than that without his 35mph (56 km/h) buffalo pulling him along.
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments are welcomed, or even just thanks if you enjoyed the post. But please make any comment relevant to the post it appears under. Off topic comments will be blocked or removed.
Moderation is on for older posts to stop spamming and comments that are off topic or inappropriate from being posted .... comments are reviewed within 48 hours. I don't block normal comments that are on topic and not inappropriate. Vexatious comments that may cause upset to other commentators, or that are attempting to espouse a particular wider political view, are reviewed before acceptance. But a certain amount of debate around a post topic is accepted, as long as it remains generally on topic and is not an attempt to become sounding board for some other cause.
Final decision on all comments is held by the blog author and is final.
Comments are always monitored for bad or abusive language, and or illegal statements i.e. overtly racist or sexist content. Spam is not tolerated and is removed.
Commentaires ne sont surveillés que pour le mauvais ou abusif langue ou déclarations illégales ie contenu ouvertement raciste ou sexiste. Spam ne est pas toléré et est éliminé.