Created history in Commonwealth, Sharmila Dhankhar paid tribute to her mother!

India’s Sharmila Dhankhar dedicated her historic Commonwealth Games 2026 gold medal to her blind mother. Sharmila made a season’s best throw of 9.81 meters to win the women’s shot put F57 title. She is the first para-athlete to win a gold medal for India in Commonwealth Para-Athletics.

Her win not only ended India’s 20-year wait for a Commonwealth Games para-athletics medal, but also secured a landmark double podium finish with compatriot Shilpa Shayla. Shilpa Shayla won the bronze medal.

Speaking to IANS after the historic win, Sharmila said, “I will dedicate this medal to my mother. My mother is blind, and despite evil from all sides, she has been supporting me since childhood. I am very happy that I have fulfilled my mother’s dream.”

This win is a major success not only for the 2026 Commonwealth Games campaign but also for the entire Indian para-athletics. Sharmila said that this medal belongs to the country and hopefully it will inspire many more people to achieve podium finishes in the coming years.

“We are very happy. We will keep winning medals for our country. We will keep working hard. We will prepare well for the next Commonwealth Games. This is our first gold medal in paraathletics,” he said.

Despite making history in Glasgow, the significance of this success was not yet fully understood by the new Commonwealth champion.

Sharmila said, “I am very happy to win this medal. But I don’t know. I will know after 2-3 days that I have won the medal. It feels like a dream.”

After winning her first major international gold medal, Sharmila has turned her focus to the challenges ahead. He said that we will play in the next Olympic Games. This is my first medal and I want to win more medals in future.