Karnataka Tribal Athlete Aims High With Javelin

Archana M Siddi, a 19-year-old from the marginalised Siddi community, overcomes adversity with ambition. Rising from her impoverished background, she clinched javelin honours in an athletics meet, aspiring to make her mark in the Olympics. Her story, in her words:

I was born in a small village called Mainalli in Mundgod taluk of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka. I have three siblings. All of us are girls and I am the third child. My sisters were also into sports but had to quit to concentrate on their studies. I am the only one left standing.

When a child, I used to watch my sisters play various sports like kabaddi. As they played, I used to sit on the sidelines and watch them for hours, forgetting about the world around me. I too wanted to play like them. Thankfully, my parents were supportive. I started playing too. Then, when I was nine years old, coaches came to our school and I was selected for the District Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) School in Karwar. My parents enrolled me in the school and the sports hostel.

Initially, I would cry all the time. I was just 10 years old when I joined. During phone calls, I would tell them, ‘I can’t do this and I want to come back home.’ I was missing my family too much. I was missing home. But my parents egged me on. “There is nothing you can’t do,” they would always say. My sisters too encouraged me, saying: “You are strong. We are always here for you.

Sadly, there were no sports facilities back in my village, though many children in my Siddi community wanted to pursue sports. They too have a strong desire to be an athlete. Many of them have been training on their own and going on runs. But there is a difference, right? In self-training and receiving coaching from experienced coaches? 

Karnataka Tribal Athlete Aims High With Javelin

Back in Karwar, I started getting adjusted to hostel life slowly. First, I participated only in the shot put and discus throw disciplines. But soon, my interest in javelin also developed. I studied in DYES, Karwar, till my 10th standard. After that, I was transferred to DYES Udupi for Pre-University College (PUC). 

But then Covid struck. For two years, there was almost no sports activity at all. My training suffered.

Now, I am in the first year of my Bachelor of Arts (BA) at Dr G Shankar Government Women’s First Grade College at Ajjarakadu, Udupi. 

In June, I represented Karnataka at the Janjati Khel Mahotsav, an athletics meet at Bhubaneswar, Odisha, for the scheduled tribes. This was the first time the government had arranged something that was exclusively for tribal athletes. Among the four members of the team representing Karnataka, I was the only girl.

I came sixth in shot put. But I topped the event in javelin.

I want to attend more such sports meets in the future. I also want to see myself participating in the Olympics.

When people ask me if I have faced any discrimination, I do not know what to say. I do not understand the question. I have been living in hostels since I was 10 years old and have not experienced any discrimination despite coming from a small tribal group. I have also been meeting all kinds of people at sports meets across India. 

I have always seen people as good. I want to come good to my dreams as well.

Amulya B is a multimedia journalist, writer and translator based in Bengaluru. This story is part of a series in collaboration with Village Square to highlight inspiring stories around the International Day of Girl Child on October 11.

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