Sharmila Dhankar scripted history on Monday night, winning India's first-ever Commonwealth Games gold medal in para-athletics with a season-best throw of 9.81m in the Women's Shot Put F57. In doing so, she ended India's 20-year wait for a CWG para-athletics medal and became the first Indian woman ever to stand on a CWG para-athletics podium.
Yet, this historic gold medal may not be the biggest life achievement for the 40-year-old from Haryana. That title belongs to the simple, miraculous fact that she is alive-and thriving.
JULY 28: FULL SCHEDULE | CWG 2026 MEDAL TALLY | INDIA AT COMMONWEALTH GAMES | KEY DATES AT CWG 2026 | INDIA'S LIVE MEDAL TRACKER
A decade ago, reaching this age and stage seemed impossible to Sharmila.
She battled polio which left her with a damaged leg as a child. She suffered an abusive marriage in her youth. She fought through suicidal thoughts as a mother of two.
She survived it all.
She survived it all, to remarry and find a man who supported her to become an athlete at 34 years of age. To give her all to training and become India's best in her discipline within a few years, constantly bettering her own national record. To reach the top of major multi-sport event podium, just six years after starting.
On Monday night, Sharmila had her crowning moment. In her event (Shot Put F57), where athletes throw from a seated position, they get six straight attempts. On her third, she threw 9.81m (her personal best is 10.03m) and then had to wait. The only player who could beat her was Nigeria's Eucharia Iyiazi, whose personal best was 11.11m.
This was destined to be Sharmila's day, however. In a show of complete dominance, all six of her attempts were above 9m. No other competitor even crossed that mark, with silver going at 8.65m. Sharmila could have walked away with every medal, if she wanted to.
It was a stark difference from four years ago, when she had finished fourth at the 2022 CWG despite setting the then national record. She was fourth at the 2023 Asian Para Games and fifth at the World Para Athletics Championships in 2025. She was national champion, but a major international medal eluded her.
This was Sharmila's big opportunity to show the world what she was made of, and she did not miss. She could not miss. Before leaving for the CWG, Sharmila had revealed that her aim was to win a medal so that she could get a job and buy a new house, having had to sell to her previous home to support her training.
This gold medal will do so much more, for her family who gave her unconditional support after she had lived through unimaginable horrors. A survivor of domestic violence, Sharmila, who was once thrown out of her house by her former husband, would now be able to purchase a home of her own.
���� Para Athletics: The Women's Shot Put F57 Final ends with India's FIRST double podium of the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Day 4 ��
�� Sharmila Dhankar (9.81m)
�� Shilpa K Shyla (7.26m)SENSATIONAL! ��
▶️ Read more: https://t.co/TEyumhq90y pic.twitter.com/CjDJG5FbK6
- ESPN India (@ESPNIndia) July 27, 2026
This was a future she could not imagine, not even in 2020. Sharmila started her sporting journey at 34, after her husband Ajit Singh introduced her to para sports .
"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 told Sportstar.
But in 2020, they sought Tek Chand, an Asian Para Games medallist himself, which changed everything. Within a year, she won the National Championship title in 2021 and had steadily pushed her own best to get up to 10m. Sports changed her life, and her own two daughters have already begun to emulate her, competing nationally.
Sharmila's story is one of extraordinary resilience and she wants to set an example for others with what she has done. "I want women to find strength to fight domestic abuse. If I win a medal, my story might just inspire them to believe it's never really over," she had told Hindustan Times before leaving for Glasgow.
Now, the woman who once couldn't imagine a future has given the world an unforgettable proof of belief, resilience, and the pure, transformative power of sport.