Madurai, Jan. 15 -- The Tamil annual festival, Pongal has more vigour in districts like Madurai, Pudukottai, Tiruchirapalli and Tanjavur for it hosts the famous and ancient sports festival - Jallikattu. The bullfight that is similar to the Spanish bullfights traces its history to around 2000 years when the fight was conducted to select the most suitable bridegroom.

Jallikattu competition commenced in Madurai's Avaniyapuram on Monday. A prior health check-up of bulls was conducted.

Jallikattu is an age-old event celebrated mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu as part of Pongal celebrations. In the sport, a bull is released into a crowd of people and participants of the event try to grab the large hump on the bull's back, attempting to bring...