The 18-year-old sprinter Nimeksha flies down the home straight like a bolt of lightning. She's a Siddi. Hardly anyone knows about her people, not even in India, where the Siddi have lived for 500 years. Her ancestors came to India from Africa as slaves or mercenaries. It's not known how many Siddi live in India. They all have the surname Siddi. They are Muslim, Christian or Hindu—and are often mistaken for tourists by many Indians. Most live in poverty, scraping by as day laborers, gathering plants, honey or rubber.

In 1983, India's Minister for Sport launched a program aimed at tapping into the community's athletic potential. Children from Siddi villages were recruited and coached in running.

One of the most successful was Kamala Siddi. At the age of 15, she set a national record in the pentathlon, won bronze and gold at international level, and was rewarded with a job on the railways and a flat with running water.

Now her daughter Nimeksha is in the spotlight. She could become India's hope for the 2028 Olympic Games. 

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