Wheelchair-bound archer Rutvi Lolge has hit bullseye! Having cleared her physical assessments by the highly credible Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), a not-for-profit company, founded by India legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone, for the promotion of sports and athletes, she has bagged a long-term sponsorship deal with them.

Less than a month ago, mid-day had highlighted how Rutvi, a Class X student of St Anne’s HS (Malad) has battled Spina Bifida, a congenital condition of the spinal cord that causes paralysis of the lower limbs, to win medals at inter-school, district, and state-level competitions alongside able-bodied athletes. Her mother, Suvarna, a single parent, who works as a freelance nurse, had told mid-day that she has to change her daughter’s urine bag every three hours and that their modest financial condition is making it difficult for Rutvi to progress in the sport as the professional equipment costs almost R5 lakh. Besides, she will also need a new wheelchair for the sport.