Sharmila Dhankar’s inspiring journey from hardship to historic win at Commonwealth Games

Sharmila continued to perform consistently and emerged as a national-level shot putter. She participated in the Fazza International Para Athletics Championship in Dubai where she won the gold medal in shot put and the bronze medal in discus.

Sharmila Dhankar created history by becoming the first-ever para-athletics gold medalist from India at the Commonwealth Games. She won the Commonwealth Games 2023 women’s shot put F57 with a season’s best throw of 9.81 meters. Sharmila ended India’s 20-year wait for a Commonwealth Games medal in para-athletics. The previous medal was won by Ranjith Kumar Jayaseelan in 2006. The para-athlete had narrowly missed out on the podium at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou in 2023, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Sharmila also finished fifth at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi.