Fencer Shruti's battle for funds

Bhavani Devi's Tokyo Olympics breakthrough, one assumed, would have opened the floodgates for fencing in India to some extent.

- Rutvick Mehta

MUMBAI: But for those like Shruti Joshi, who became the National Games bronze medallist after a fighting loss to Bhavani in the women's sabre semi-finals, undercurrents of this far from developed niche sport in the country continue to be felt. Be it in her early days of pursuing this expensive sport coming from a humble background in Nagpur—her father is employed privately as a driver and her mother is a housewife.