GLASGOW, JUL 28 (PTI): Sharmila Dhankar, a woman who was impaired by polio at the age of two and survived the trauma of an abusive marriage, became India’s first para-athlete to clinch a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games, winning the women’s shot put F57 event here.
The 40-year-old produced her season’s best throw of 9.81m to end India’s 20-year wait for a para-athletics medal in the CWG.
Compatriot Shilpa Shyla, was awarded the bronze medal following an Indian protest amid controversial circumstances. Shyla had produced a personal best effort of 7.26m.
Nigeria’s Eucharia Iyiazi was initially placed at the bronze medal position but after a protest and official review, her only valid mark was adjudged a foul.
That led to Shyla being upgraded to bronze from the initial fourth place. However, it is likely that a counter protest may also be launched by Nigeria.
A sobbing Shyla celebrated, along with Sharmila, after the dramatic upgradation to bronze, giving India two medals from the event.
F57 classification is for athletes with lower limb impairments, limb deficiencies, or reduced muscle power.
Sharmila’s performance on Monday night is one for the ages not just for the result it yielded but the resolve that it took for her to come this far in life.
Hailing from Haryana’s Chhithroli, Sharmila’s left leg was impaired by Polio at the age of two.
Sharmila won a gold medal in the Fazza International Para Athletics Championship this year. She also took part in the 2022 Birmingham Games and finished fourth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated her for the historic show.
Kushare becomes first Indian to win silver in men’s high jump in CWG
National record holder Sarvesh Kushare scripted history as he became the first Indian to win a silver medal in the men’s high jump event in the Commonwealth Games here.
The 31-year-old Indian cleared 2.25m to clinch the silver with Romaine Beckford of Jamaica taking the gold late on Monday night.
After sailing over 2.25m, both Kushare and Beckford failed to clear 2.28m. But the Jamaica was adjudged the gold winner on countback, as Kushare settled for the silver. The bronze went to Jack Kimani (2.20m) of England.
The other Indian in the fray, Adarsh Ram, finished fifth with 2.15m.
Before Monday, Tejaswin Shankar was the lone Indian to have won a high jump medal — a bronze in the 2022 Birmingham Games. But Kushare bettered it with his silver. It was Kushare’s first medal in the CWG and that too on debut.
Tejaswin also competed on Monday and retired after failing to clear 2.05m in his first attempt. The move was a precautionary measure for Tejaswin as he is competing in the men’s decathlon starting on Thursday.
The 27-year-old, who has a personal best of 2.29m, has not competed in too many individual high jump events in the last two years as he has been focussing on decathlon.
Son of an onion farmer at Devargaon village in Maharashtra’s Nashik district, Kushare used to practice high jump by using makeshift landing pits made of corn husks, cotton, and agricultural waste, prepared by his father and childhood coach.
Earlier this month, Kushare scripted history by becoming the first Indian high jumper to finish on the podium at a Diamond League meet, claiming third place on his debut in Monaco and joining an exclusive four-member club of Indian achievers. He had cleared 2.26m to take the third spot in a star-studded field and grabbed a remarkable personal milestone. He had set a national record of 2.31m while winning gold at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar last month.
He was the fourth Indian to finish in top-three of a Diamond League event after javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra (13 times since 2022), long jumper Murali Sreeshankar (once in 2023) and former discus thrower Vikas Gowda (on two occasions in 2015).
His first national level gold came in 2018 Indian Open where he jumped 2.24m. He improved his mark to 2.26m while winning gold in the 2019 Indian Open. He raised the bar by one centimeter to 2.27m on way to a gold at the 2022 Gujarat National Games. In the process, he also became the first Indian to qualify for the men’s high jump final at the World Championships.
Ajaya Babu wins silver medal in men’s 79kg weightlifting
Fast-rising Indian weightlifter Valluri Ajaya Babu produced a remarkable performance to win the silver medal in the men’s 79kg category and continue the country’s successful run in the sport at the ongoing Commonwealth Games here.
The 21-year-old from Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district lifted a Games record 149kg in snatch and 181kg in clean and jerk for a total of 330kg to win the second prize, narrowly missing out on gold to Malaysia’s Erry Hidayat Muhammad, who totalled a Games record 331kg (147 + 184) during a gripping contest on Monday night. This was India’s sixth medal in weightlifting in the current edition of the Games. England’s Chris Murray settled for bronze with a total of 325.
First, Hidayat lifted 181kg to smash the Games record, the Indian then bettered it within seconds by lifting 181kg in his final attempt to break the record again for 330kg. Hidayat did one better, breaking the record again with a lift of 184kg in his final attempt to win the gold medal.
Earlier, after a failed second attempt at 149kg, Ajaya Babu made a fine comeback to lift the weight in his final try and set a new Games record, finishing at the top of the heap at the end of snatch section ahead of England’s Chris Murray (148kg) and Malaysia’s Erry Hidayat Muhammad (147kg). He had 145kg listed as his first attempt and nailed it too easily.
Seen as one of India’s fastest-growing lifters, Ajaya Babu had in the past won the gold medal in the men’s 79kg category at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships in Ahmedabad with a personal-best total lift of 335kg (152kg snatch + 183kg clean & jerk), breaking the championship records. That performance earned him his direct qualification spot for Glasgow 2026.
In the 2024 Commonwealth Championships, he secured double gold medals across both the junior and senior divisions in the men’s 81kg category in Suva, Fiji.
After that, in the 2025 World Championships, the youngster was placed 16th overall in a highly competitive 39-lifter field in Forde, Norway.