Ending India’s two decade-long wait, Sharmila Dhankar today became India's first para-athlete to clinch a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games, winning the women's shot put F57 event in Glasgow, Scotland. The F57 category is designated for athletes with lower limb disabilities.
The 40-year-old, who was impaired by polio at the age of two and survived the trauma of an abusive marriage, produced her season's best throw of 9.81m to make the podium. She finished well ahead of Ghana's Zinabu Issah, who won the silver with a top throw of 8.65 metres. Following the disqualification of Nigeria's Eucharia Iyiazi, Indian para-athlete Shilpa Shyla was promoted from fourth place to the bronze medal position.
The country's previous para-athletics gold medal was won by Ranjith Kumar Jayaseelan in the men's seated Discus Throw in 2006.
Hailing from Haryana's Chhithroli, Sharmila took to sports at 34. According to a profile shared by the Sports Authority of India, Sharmila was married off early and was trapped in an abusive marriage. She later remarried, and has two children with Ajit Singh, a businessman from Rewari. It was Ajit who encouraged Sharmila to begin her para athletics career in 2020 under coach Tek Chand.
Despite the late start, she became the top F57 shot putter in the country, winning the national championship in 2021 and a gold medal at the Fazza International Para Athletics Championship earlier this year. She also competed in the 2022 Birmingham Games, where she finished fourth.
Having won the gold medal, Sharmila is now determined to bring more glory to the nation by competing in the Asian Games and the Olympics. She dedicated her first international gold medal to her mother, whom she described as her rock.
"I am extremely happy to win a medal for my country,” she told ANI. “I feel really proud, and I will continue bringing glory to the nation. This was my dream, and my mother's dream too. I won this gold through hard work. My mother will be overjoyed. I got this medal for her. The Asian Games and the Olympics are next. This is my first medal, and I will keep winning many more in the future."
India won six medals on Day 5 of the competition, taking the tally to 10 – two gold, five silver, and three bronze – and occupying the eight position in the points table.
The medallists are:
Mirabai Chanu: Gold (Weightlifting)
Sharmila Dhankar: Gold (Women's Shot Put F57)
Rishikanta Singh: Silver (Weightlifting)
Muthupandi Raja: Silver (Weightlifting)
Gyaneshwari Yadav: Silver (Weightlifting)
Sarvesh Kushare: Silver (Men's High Jump)
Valluri Ajaya Babu: Silver (Weightlifting)
Bindyarani Devi: Bronze (Weightlifting)
Shilpa Shyla: Bronze (Women's Shot Put F57)
Jhandu Kumar: Bronze (Para Powerlifting)
