Teen para archer Rutvi Lolge, 15, like any competitive sportsperson, hates to lose. But on Saturday, she had no regrets after losing her elimination round during the 7th NTPC Para Archery Championship at the Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports (NIS) campus in Patiala. That’s because her opponent was none other than world champion Sheetal Devi. Rutvi idolises Devi, the only top-class global archer without both arms, who is also a bronze medal-winner at the 2024 Paralympics. 

In November last year, mid-day first 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 against able-bodied athletes. Her mother, Suvarna, a single parent, who works as a freelance nurse, has to change her daughter’s urine bag every three hours during competitions. In December, OGQ, a highly credible not-for-profit organisation, founded by India legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone for the promotion of sports and athletes, came forward to take Rutvi under their wings and sponsor her ultimate dream of winning an Olympic (Paralympic) medal for the country. The Patiala event was Rutvi’s first big step backed by OGQ, and she was understandably nervous being the youngest girl in the women’s open compound competition. “This was my first national competition so I was nervous, but when I saw Sheetal Devi in front of me, all those nerves disappeared. I felt fine. She has such a calming influence,” Rutvi told mid-day from her Malad home on Monday after returning from Patiala.