MADURAI: For about a week, V Selvam had been waiting anxiously for his pigeon to return from Ramagundam in Telangana, 1,000 kilometres away. This time again he wasn’t disappointed, as his was the first to return among the 20 birds that were dropped at Ramagundam for the race, making Selvam the proud winner of the championship conducted by Madurai Racing Pigeon Council (MRPC) for the third consecutive time. Like Selvam, who is into pigeon racing for more than 20 years, there is a small group of enthusiasts of the not-so-popular sport in Madurai, which was evident at the 20th year championship prize distribution ceremony of MRPC, here on Sunday.
This year, the organisers say, pigeon races were held in January from eight places in the city, with distances varying from 130 kilometres (Samayapuram) to 1,000 kilometres (Ramagundam).
Around 20 pigeon fanciers and 500 pigeons had participated. According to Selvam, though most of the pigeons will return to their owners in short-distance races, only a few well-bred pigeons will be capable of enduring the long distance races of more than 700 kilometres.
Noel Kannan, an experienced pigeon fancier, says years of selective breeding of pigeons with good bloodline and eye sign, ends in producing the best racing birds. Though the import of foreign breeds is now strictly prohibited, avid pigeon fanciers have retained the bloodline of those breeds that were available here many years ago, Selvam says. “For instance, the Diaz breed of pigeons are large in size and keen on returning home. On the other hand, the Sion breed is a smaller variety and is less inclined towards returning home. By carefully breeding these two over the years, we produce better racing pigeons,” he adds. When asked about the less popularity of the sport, Selvam says it is gradually picking up with an increasing number of clubs coming up from across States.