Till about a fortnight ago, Shahira Attar (22), the national-level cyclist who hails from a poor family in Almatti village, was worried about her career and medical bills from a spinal surgery following a road accident.

However, her hopes were rekindled after several philanthropists donated money for her treatment after The Hindu published an article on August 2 highlighting her plight. “After the news appeared, I received several calls from people inquiring about my health and they promised financial help. Till now, around Rs. 80,000 has been deposited in my bank account. I have no words to express my gratitude to the people who have come forward to help me,” she said. A Hyderabad-based company has also offered to take care of Shahira’s treatment and training. “The representatives of the company have asked me to enter into an agreement with them regarding sponsorship. I am thinking about it positively,” she said.

Shahira said representatives of Canara Bank had promised to pay Rs. 20,000 at an event to be held in Kalaburagi soon. She said she would use a part of the donations to repay the money her mother borrowed for the surgery, the rest to meet medical expenses for the next one year.