What’s the story?
A 13-year-old belonging to the Siddi tribe in Gujarat continues to bring glory to his clan and the sports community with his spectacular performance in judo. Promising talent Rohit Majgul, who has been training under the judo program of the Gujarat Sports Academy for the last three years, has already won several accolades in various judo championships and aspires to represent India in the Olympics one day.
The context
Gujarati by speech, Indian by nationality and African by origin, the Siddi tribe have been a part of this country for a couple of centuries now with their population spreading across parts of Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Judo champ Rohit is from one of these families and lives in a small tribal village called Talala in the Gir Somnath district of Gujarat. Despite the fact that his family is making ends meet as menial daily wage labourers and that his village barely has facilities to provide him with the necessary support, he is determined to make his way to the top.
The heart of the matter
As per an Indiatimes report, Rohit’s coach, Ghanshyam Thakur, who saw him play in the District Level Sports School, has trained him since his first day at the academy. According to him, Rohit is now fit to play the Sub Junior Championships on a national level, after having put on 20 kgs in the last three years. He was only 16 kgs when his talents were discovered.
Rohit, meanwhile, believes that he was selected for judo because they found him fighting with another classmate and felt that he would be a good fit for martial arts. Rohit also spoke about his two sisters and parents and how they have a hard time earning their daily bread.
What’s next?
Having participated in various championships like Khelo India, Thakur claims that Rohit has won silver and bronze medals in almost every championship and continues to strive to get better without giving up.
The confident champ is waiting to turn 16 so he can compete in international competitions and make his dreams of winning gold come true. Rohit also has aspirations of winning gold for India in the Olympics one day.
Author’s Take
The Siddi tribe does an excellent job of representing the diversity of our country. However, they’re quite a way off from being able to tap into the kind of privilege other communities have. Struggling to make a living, most kids in the village do not get the opportunity Rohit did. Compelled to leave their education behind, they either assist their parents in labour work or become farmers.
It is refreshing to see a child coming through in such circumstances. Along with bringing the nation pride, Rohit brings hope for the other children of his community.
