Jolt for Indian Bolt
Bengaluru: A second Kambala racer has emerged faster than Srinivas Gowda, the jockey hogging limelight across the country for ‘eclipsing’ Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt’s 100m record.”Nishant Shetty hailing from Bajagoli Jogibettu village broke Gowda’s record at Venoor Kambala (buffalo race). He covered 100m in just 9.51 seconds,” said a Kambala organiser.Bolt currently holds the 100m world record at 9.58 seconds set in 2009.Shetty achieved the feat on Sunday and joined three more Kambala racers who have sprinted 100m within 10 seconds.Shetty ran 143m in just 13.61 seconds, starting to be dubbed as Kambala’s second ‘Bolt’.The other sub-10 seconds Kambala sprinters are Iruvathur Anand (9.57 seconds), Gowda (9.55) and Akkeri Suresh Shetty (9.57).Gowda, 28, a construction worker, took just 13.62 seconds to cover a distance of 145m in the Kambala event in Aikala village near Mangaluru in which jockeys have to sprint barefoot through paddy fields with buffaloes.He took just 9.55 seconds to run a distance of 100m and netizens were quick to point out that he was faster than eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt.Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa honoured on Monday Gowda with a reward of Rs 3 lakh. (IANS)
AC Milan eye Euro spots
Milan:AC Milan closed in on the European places in Serie A after Ante Rebic fired them to a 1-0 win over Torino. Rebic on Monday swept home Samu Castillejo’s low pull back in the 25th minute to consign to draw Milan level on 35 points with Hellas Verona, who currently occupy the final Europa League spot on goal difference. Rebic’s winning goal was his sixth in seven games in all competitions, a run that comes after failing to score at all in the first half of the season. The Croatian’s strike helped the hosts bounce back from last week’s derby disappointment against Inter Milan to continue a positive run under coach Stefano Pioli that also saw them unlucky not to beat Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg last week. They have lost just once since the turn of the year — to title-chasing Inter — and are playing well enough to aim for European football next season. However the Champions League will likely be beyond them thanks to the 10-point gap between them and fourth-placed Atalanta. Torino meanwhile are inching closer to the relegation zone after their fifth straight defeat, a slump that shows little sign of ending. They are just five points from the drop despite bringing in Moreno Longo to replace Walter Mazzarri earlier this month. (AFP)