Bulls steal the show at renowned Jallikattu in TN's Alanganallur

Madurai (Tamil Nadu), Jan 17 (PTI) The spirit of the traditional bull taming sport came to the fore at the renowned Jallikattu event at Alanganallur here on Saturday with scores of ferocious bulls freezing the tamers by displaying their might.

As the bulls shook their heads and stood firm, the tamers, mostly youth, circled around hoping to embrace the hump but couldn't advance, eventually leading to the bulls declared as winners.

A bull fell on a dauntless tamer who leapt on the bull and clashed its hump. For a few minutes the animal struggled to stand on its legs. Tamers who were around the bull shoved the animal from behind, enabling it to get up and run out of the Jallikattu arena. The man however escaped without getting injured.

A bull belonging to AIADMK’s former state minister C Vijayabhaskar and another owned by actor Soori were among those that were unstoppable. They earned a gold coin each for their respective owners.

As many as 465 tamers are participating in the final event for the Pongal 2026 season at Alanganallur, where nearly 825 bulls will be unleashed from the 'Vaadi Vaasal' (entry point) into the arena.

State Commercial Taxes and Registration Minister P Moorthi inaugurated the sport in the presence of Madurai District Collector Pravin Kumar and other senior officials. PTI JSP JSP ADB