Untapped Talents Of India! Siddi Community Of Karnataka & Their Stint With Sport: All You Need To Know

The diverse traditions, customs, communities, and religions are the identity of India, which is known for unity in diversity. For every 20-30 kms in India, one can find changes in local dialects, food, and cultural practices. Among several districts, North Kannada has many feathers in its cap due to its diversified ethnic groups.

In North Kannada, one can find the Siddi Community, which has about 40,000 members. It’s one of the largest ethnic groups of North Kannada spread over forest and outskirt areas of Joida, Yallapur, and Ankola taluks. The Siddis are the descendants of Bantu peoples from Southeast Africa that were brought to the Indian territory by Portuguese and Arab traders as enslaved people.

After centuries of existence in India, they remain socially, economically, and educationally backward. In their daily lives, they are distanced from basic amenities and resources. However, it doesn’t take their glory away, as they are one of the fittest and most athletic groups of people.

The physical appearance of the ethnic group resembles Africans with their thick lips, broad mouth, and curly hair. However, they practice local traditions of North Kannada and speak local languages such as Kannada, Konkani, and Marathi. Several researchers have claimed that Siddis have the most athletic physical features that can help India achieve milestones in athletics.

The Untapped Potential Talents

Among the community members, Ravi Kiran Siddi is one such sports enthusiast who has shown his potential to represent his state and country on global platforms. Ravi’s coaches admit that his sprinting capabilities are exceptional. When the local community members identified his sprinting skills, he was sent for training under the supervision of experts.

In just two years of training, he finished 100 meters sprinting in 11 seconds, which is claimed to be just 0.7 seconds short of the Indian national record. He has become a symbol of hope for the Siddi community, which has lived under challenging conditions for more than five centuries.

Recently, he participated at the Karnataka University Meet, where he secured the second position in sprinting. He was distanced from the gold medal for just 0.04 seconds. If he had won the gold in the tournament, then he could’ve made a position in the Khelo India University Games.

However, World Athletics Under-20 is the following aim for Ravi. Not only in sprinting, but the youth from the Siddi community has also proven their potential in the field of boxing. The Karnataka State Government is conducting several training camps to promote the talents to a national level.

Several not-for-profit organizations have also shown their support for uplifting the Siddis in Karnataka. They organize training camps to identify potential talents. The sports enthusiasts are then provided with nutritional food, training resources, and required facilities to upskill daily. However, to empower the NGOs to conduct such activities that strengthen the Siddis of Karnataka, people can step forward to contribute.

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