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By Ishaan Kapoor — 28 July 2026 — 3 min read

Historic Gold for India in Para-Athletics

Sharmila Dhankar secured India’s first para-athletics gold medal at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games in the women’s Shot Put F57 event. Dhankar, who is 40 years old, achieved a season-best throw of 9.81 metres at Scotstoun Stadium. Her teammate, Shilpa K Shyla, also earned a bronze medal in the same event, marking a rare double-podium finish for India.

Dhankar’s journey to this gold medal follows a challenging personal history, including contracting polio at the age of two and facing abuse in her first marriage. Her second husband, Ajit Singh, encouraged her to pursue para sports, leading her to train under Paralympian-coach Tek Chand. Dhankar previously won gold at the 2021 Para National Championships and finished fourth in both the 2022 Birmingham Para Commonwealth Games and the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games.

Following her victory, Dhankar received praise from President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya also shared a video celebrating the achievement of Dhankar and Shyla. Dhankar aims to compete in the upcoming 2026 Asian Games in Japan next month and hopes her daughters, Anuj and Laxmi, will also compete in the Games in javelin and long jump, respectively.

Boxing Success and Weightlifting Endeavours

In boxing, India has secured at least two medals with Priya Ghanghas and Preeti Pawar advancing to the semifinals. Ghanghas reached the Women’s 60kg semifinals after defeating Scotland’s Niamh Mitchell 4-1 on points. She mounted a comeback after trailing 1-4 in the first round, winning the second round 4-1 and dominating the third round 5-0.

Preeti Pawar also secured a spot in the Women’s 54kg semifinals by defeating Northern Ireland’s Nicole Clyde with a unanimous 5-0 decision. Their victories guarantee at least a bronze medal for each boxer. India is set to have five boxers competing in quarterfinal matches, with each win assuring a medal.

In weightlifting, Nirupama Devi Seram competed in the Women’s 63kg final. She finished the snatch round in fifth place with a best lift of 93kg. Her initial snatch attempt was 93kg, which she failed but then successfully lifted on her second attempt. She was unable to complete her third snatch attempt at 95kg.

During the clean and jerk round, Seram initially registered an opening attempt of 115kg, which she later raised to 123kg. However, she failed to complete her first, second, and third attempts at 123kg, resulting in a DNF (Did Not Finish) and ending her medal contention. Canada’s Maude Charron led the snatch round in the Women’s 63kg final with a Commonwealth Games record lift of 102kg.

Another Indian weightlifter, Harjinder Kaur, is scheduled to compete in the Women’s 69kg weightlifting final. Her opening entries are 95kg in the snatch and 120kg in the clean and jerk, though these weights may change. India has already accumulated six medals in weightlifting, comprising one gold, four silver, and one bronze.

Athletics Update

In athletics, Vishal TK advanced to the semifinals in the 400m event, finishing second in Heat 6 with a time of 46.49 seconds. Earlier, Rajesh Ramesh placed third in Heat 3 with a time of 47.43 seconds, which was not sufficient for a semifinal berth.

High jumper Tejaswin Shankar’s Commonwealth Games campaign concluded due to a recurring knee injury. Despite his disappointment, Shankar remained at the venue to support his teammate Sarvesh Kushare, who went on to win a silver medal, marking India’s best-ever result in the event at the Commonwealth Games. Shankar had previously won a bronze medal at the 2022 Birmingham Games.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com