BENGALURU: Dastagir Abdul Siddi from Gunjavati, a remote village near Karwar, was in tenth standard when he dreamt of joining the Army. Someone at his village told him that he has to run fast to be selected for the forces.
As there was no proper athletic track or even ground near his village, he cleared some shrubs near his house and started practising. Only when he joined the first PU in Karwar did he see athletic grounds, where students trained.
Dastagir is from Siddi community, originally from South-East Africa and settled in some parts of Uttara Kannada district for centuries. Many youngsters are first-generation school-goers, while their parents continue to work as daily wagers.
"After college hours, coach Prakash Renukar trained some students and made them run at college grounds. For nearly a month, all I did was stand there and watch them train. One day, the coach came up to me and asked why I just stood there and watched. I told him I was interested in running and he included me in the team," he said.
Dastagir is one of 52 youngsters from Siddi community who will be trained in sports in Bengaluru. The Sports Department will take care of their regular education apart from their training, which will start from Tuesday.
Dastagir was looking for some sports platform when he landed at a camp organised by the department to identify talented Siddi boys and girls, who are believed to have superior physical strength. The Department conducted 18 different tests in September last year for 500 Siddi community children below 18 years.
Of them, 100 were selected and were given one-week training in November. Of them, 52 were picked up for further training in boxing, swimming, athletics and other sports. "I cover 100 metres in 11.05 seconds and my aim is to bring it down under 10 seconds. I will shift my college here as I will also be training. I will represent India one day," he said confidently.
Siddi athletes to be served nutritious diet
Those selected are staying at Jayaprakash Narayan National Youth Training Centre near Chikkajala in Bengaluru. The Sports Department has organised a special diet to build their strength. "They will be served two eggs and two bananas along with breakfast in the morning. Dal, chapati, rice, sabji and fruits for lunch. Chicken and other nutritionally rich food for dinner. When I was at my village, we hardly had a non-vegetarian meal," said Joseph Bastya Siddi, who hails from Ugginakere village. His focus is on boxing. "I never thought we would get a place like this in Bengaluru where we can make our dream come true," he added.
Dinesh Shankar Siddi, who is 15 years old, was studying at a government school in Kelape. He learnt how to swim at Bedthi river, which flows near his house, during the summer holidays when he was ten. "I love to swim and can hold my breath for 30 seconds," he added.
Sports Minister KC Narayana Gowda said Siddis are neglected and live in backward, rural areas. "They have the potential to win national and international awards," he added.