Historic Gold for India in Para-Athletics
Sharmila Dhankar has secured India’s first para-athletics gold medal at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. The 40-year-old athlete competed in the women’s Shot Put F57 event, achieving a season-best throw of 9.81 metres at Scotstoun Stadium. This victory marks the end of a 20-year wait for India in this category at the Commonwealth Games.
Dhankar was joined on the podium by teammate Shilpa K Shyla, who earned the bronze medal in the same event. This achievement resulted in a rare double-podium finish for India. Dhankar’s journey to gold is described as a testament to her resilience.
Born in Haryana’s Chitrauli village in 1986, Sharmila Dhankar contracted polio at the age of two, which affected her left leg. She later remarried Ajit Singh in 2018, who encouraged her to pursue para sports. She trained under Paralympian-coach Tek Chand, a bronze medallist in seated shot put at the 2018 Asian Para Games in the F57 category. Dhankar won gold in her debut at the 2021 Para National Championships and finished 4th in both the 2022 Birmingham Para Commonwealth Games and the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games.
Weightlifting and Boxing Updates
In weightlifting, India’s Nirupama Devi Seram competed in the Women’s 63kg final. She finished the snatch round in fifth place with a best lift of 93kg. Canada’s Maude Charron led the snatch round with a Commonwealth Games record of 102kg, followed by Nauru’s Femily-Crystie Notte with 100kg, and Australia’s Kiana Rose Elliott with 99kg.
However, Nirupama Devi Seram was unable to register a successful clean and jerk lift, failing all three attempts at 123kg. This resulted in a DNF (Did Not Finish) for her, meaning she concluded the competition without a total mark and was out of medal contention. India has already secured six medals in weightlifting at the Glasgow Games, comprising one gold, four silver, and one bronze. Later, Harjinder Kaur is scheduled to compete in the Women’s 69kg final at 11:00 PM IST.
The focus for India now shifts to the boxing ring, where five boxers are scheduled to compete in the quarterfinals. A victory in these matches would guarantee each boxer at least a bronze medal. The boxing action is set to begin at 10:30 PM IST with Preeti Pawar facing Nicole Clyde of Northern Ireland in the Women’s 54kg quarterfinal. This will be followed by Priya Ghanghas against Niamh Mitchell of Scotland in the Women’s 60kg quarterfinal at 11:00 PM IST. Other boxers in quarterfinal action include Parveen Hooda, Jadumani Singh, and Kapil Pokhariya.
Swimming Performances
In swimming, India’s Vishal TK advanced to the semifinals after securing second place in Heat 6 with a time of 46.49 seconds. Earlier, Rajesh Ramesh finished third in Heat 3, clocking 47.43 seconds, but this was not sufficient for a semifinal spot.
Both para swimmers, RVVBK Budigina and Ali Imam, qualified for the Men’s 50m Freestyle S13 final. Budigina finished third in Heat 1 with a time of 26.33 seconds, while Imam clocked 28.41 seconds to finish fifth in Heat 2. Srihari Nataraj also secured his place in the men’s 100m backstroke semifinals, finishing fifth in Heat 4 with a time of 55.58 seconds. However, Sajan Prakash did not qualify for the semifinals in the men’s 50m butterfly, finishing last in Heat 9 with a time of 24.94 seconds, placing him 28th overall among 70 swimmers.
India’s athletes are aiming to continue their momentum after achieving a six-medal haul on Monday. The Commonwealth Games action continues with various events, including swimming heats, athletics, weightlifting finals, and boxing quarterfinals.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Priya Nair
Sports Reporter
