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From polio and abuse to Commonwealth Games gold: Sharmila Dhankar's extraordinary story
The medal also means Sharmila Dhankar can now fulfil a promise she made to herself before leaving for Scotland
Amid the spotlight on weightlifting, which fetched India six medals—including a gold—over the first five days of the Commonwealth Games 2026, history unfolded late on Monday night in Glasgow as India celebrated its second gold of the Games.
For the first time ever, India won a Commonwealth Games gold medal in para-athletics, courtesy of Sharmila Dhankar, who clinched the women's Shot Put F57 title with a season-best throw of 9.81m. The triumph also ended India's 20-year wait for a para-athletics medal at the Commonwealth Games, while making Sharmila the first Indian woman ever to stand on a CWG para-athletics podium.
Yet, remarkable as the achievement is, the gold medal may not even be the greatest triumph of her life.
For the 40-year-old from Haryana, it represents something far deeper than sporting success—it is proof of survival.
As a child, Sharmila battled polio, which left her with permanent damage to her left leg. Years later, she endured an abusive marriage that pushed her to the brink of suicide. At one point, she was even thrown out of her home. Through it all, however, she kept fighting—for herself, and more importantly, for her two children.
Life began to change after she remarried. It was her husband, Ajit Singh, who not only introduced her to para-athletics but also became the biggest believer in her dreams. At an age when most athletes begin thinking about retirement, Sharmila was only getting started.
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"I'd never played any sport. And with my handicap, I couldn't even run. I was also 34 years old. I was going to start at an age where everyone else was ending their career. Despite all this, my husband was very insistent that we explore the idea," she had told Sportstar.
In 2020, the couple approached Tek Chand, an Asian Para Games medallist himself, who helped transform her life. Just a year later, Sharmila became the national champion. She immersed herself in training, steadily establishing herself as India's finest in her discipline, breaking her own national record several times and earning qualification for major international competitions.
On Monday, all that perseverance culminated in the defining moment of her career.
Competing ninth among ten athletes in the F57 event—where competitors throw the shot put from a seated position and are allowed six attempts—Sharmila dominated the field from the very beginning. Her opening throw of 9.48m virtually secured the gold, and she went one better on her third attempt with a season-best 9.81m.
The only athlete capable of surpassing her on paper was Nigeria's Eucharia Iyiazi, whose personal best stood at 11.11m. But the Nigerian was disqualified after initially putting herself in bronze-medal contention, leaving the gold firmly in Sharmila's grasp.
Ghana's Zinabu Issah claimed silver with a season-best 8.65m, while fellow Indian Shilpa K. Shyla settled for bronze after a best throw of 7.26m.
The result marked a remarkable turnaround from the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where Sharmila had finished fourth despite setting what was then a national record. Success at major international events continued to elude her thereafter as she placed fourth at the 2023 Asian Para Games and fifth at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships.
Glasgow finally delivered the breakthrough she had spent years chasing.
The medal also means Sharmila can now fulfil a promise she made to herself before leaving for Scotland—to secure a job and buy a new home, having earlier sold her previous house to fund her training.
Perhaps even more meaningful than the gold itself is the legacy she is leaving behind.
Her journey has inspired both her daughters, who now compete at the national level themselves, ensuring that the courage which once helped Sharmila survive has now become the foundation for a new generation to dream.
