Indian para-athlete Sharmila Dhankar won a historic gold in the women's shot put F57 at the Commonwealth Games 2026, securing India's first-ever para-athletics gold. The 34-year-old overcame childhood polio, poverty and domestic abuse to script history.
Indian para-athlete Sharmila Dhankar scripted a historic achievement at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday, July 27. Sharmila clinched a gold medal in the women's shot put F57 event, becoming India's first-ever Commonwealth Games para-athletics gold medallist.
The 40-year-old’s para-shot putter gold medal win ended India’s 20-year wait for a para-athletics medal at the Commonwealth Games, with her stellar season-best effort of 9.81m on a historic night in Glasgow. This was the third medal for India in Para sports at the Glasgow Games, further cementing a remarkable campaign for the country's para-athletes.
Sharmila Dhankar defeated her compatriot, Shilpa Shyla, who won the bronze medal with her best effort of 7.26m in the same event, while Nigeria’s Joy Onaolapo claimed the silver medal with a throw of 9.24m.
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Sharmila Dhankar Overcame Domestic Abuse
Sharmila Dhankar might have won a historic gold medal at the ongoing edition of the Commonwealth Games, but did so after overcoming a harrowing past of severe domestic abuse, poverty, and childhood polio to etch her name in the history books of Indian sports as a beacon of resilience, perseverance, and unbreakable human spirit.
Speaking to the Times of India (TOI) after the gold medal win, Sharmila recalled her domestic abuse by her first husband, stating that she would get beaten by him from 11 pm to 3 am before being thrown out of the house.
“One night, I was beaten from 11 pm to 3 am by my first husband and thrown out of the house. I never went back.” Sharmila said.
The para-shot putter revealed that her mother is blind and her father was a farmer, and thus making ends meet was a constant struggle throughout her childhood, marked by severe financial hardship and limited resources. The polio, which affected her right leg at the age of two, adding further layers of intensity at an early age.
However, the adversity didn’t stop there, as financial struggles persisted even after she took up sports, forcing her and her family to sell their Rewari house in 2023 just to fund her training and pursue her athletic dreams.
Sharmila Began Her Journey as an Athlete at 34
Sharmila Dhankar is considered a late bloomer, as she began her competitive sporting journey at the age of 34, thanks to her second husband, Ajit Singh, who introduced her to para sports and encouraged her to train under coaches Tek Chand and Devendra. In 2021, Dhankar received national recognition when she won the gold medal in her National Championships debut.
The following year, the Haryana shot putter made her CWG debut in Birmingham, but narrowly missed the bronze medal by finishing fourth. In 2023, Sharmila finished fifth at the Asian Para-Games in Hangzhou. Last year, the 40-year-old made her World Para-Athletics Championships debut in New Delhi, but finished fifth.
Sharmila Dhankar’s biggest international breakthrough and earned further national recognition after she won gold in shot put and bronze in discus at the Fazza International Para Athletics Championship in Dubai, setting the stage for a historic gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Sharmila’s CWG gold in Glasgow not only represents the pinnacle of her athletic career, but it also fulfilled her deepest personal aspirations: securing a brighter, more secure future and ensuring her two daughters, Anju and Lakshmi, have access to the opportunities and a life free from hardship that she fought so hard to carve out.
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