Avaniyapuram Jallikattu, the bull of Tirunangai Keerthana from Madurai district, won the first round. Keerthana could not hide his glee as he saw the sight of cowherds struggling to catch his bull which came running after opening the gate.
In the last two years, more than 20 wadivas have been fielded by his cows.
Speaking to the BBC earlier, he said, “When the Jallikattu movement came, police, IT and many others are doing well, so why don’t we raise cows?
I thought why not get down to what I know and achieve. Since then, I have been raising cows for Jallikattu,” he said.
He prepared to field the cows in Jallikattu in 2022 as well. Now his bull has started the 2023 Jallikattu with a win.
Tamil Nadu’s traditional Madurai Avaniyapuram jallikattu competition started at 7.45 am. It started with 318 bullfighters, 1004 bulls participating.
The first day of the Tamil Nadu traditional jallikattu competition at world famous Avaniyapuram, Palamedu, Alankanallur in Madurai district began today at Avaniyapuram.
The first day of Jallikattu, which is held for three consecutive days, is held in Avaniyapuram.
25 cowherd players each are allowed in each round. 8 to 10 rounds of 45 minutes will be played till this evening. The match started at 7.45 am and will continue till 5 pm.
Madurai District Administration and Madurai Corporation have made complete arrangements for this year’s Avaniapuram Jallikattu Competition. According to the court order, a 16-member advisory committee is formed and the district administration conducts Jallikattu.
The bullfighters, bull owners and assistants participating in the competition are allowed to be tested before the start of the competition and after the corona test certificate has been issued.
Arrangements have been made for a medical team to provide first aid treatment to cowherd soldiers.
Also arrangements have been made to have 40 medical teams consisting of 93 doctors and nurses ready to examine and provide first aid to the bulls participating in the jallikattu competition under the leadership of Veterinary Director Saravanan.
9699 bulls have been registered online to participate in the jallikattu competition held at three places namely Avaniyapuram, Palamedu and Alankanallur and about 1000 bulls are allowed to participate in each competition. In particular, only native breed bulls are allowed in competitions.
A car is awarded to the best cowherd players as a special prize at Avaniyapuram Jallikattu. Cows and a two-wheeler are awarded to the best bulls. Also various prizes including gold, silver coins, bicycle, bed, utensils are to be given.
For this jallikattu competition, the police have set up barricades at 20 places in Avaniyapuram and around 1,500 thousand policemen have been deployed for security.
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