Kolkata: Sharmila Dhankar’s journey from domestic abuse to Commonwealth Games 2026 Shotput Gold medal is inspiring.
For Sharmila, every shotput throw was a story of comeback, a tale of rebuilding and inspiration for girls in India. From growing up in poverty in Haryana’s Mahendragarh district and surviving domestic abuse in her first marriage to selling the family home to sustain her sporting dream, the 40-year-old para shot putter has turned adversity into ambition.
Sharmila scripted history last night becoming India’s first-ever Commonwealth Games para-athletics gold medallist. She delivered a landmark performance by winning the women’s shot put F57 (it is for athletes with lower limb impairments, limb deficiencies or reduced muscle power) title with a season-best effort of 9.81m, ending the nation’s 20-year wait for a para-athletics medal at the Games. The last para-athletics medal in CWG was won by Ranjith Kumar Jayaseelan in the men’s seated discus throw event in the 2006 edition.
The seated thrower, who also competes in discus, headed into the Games on the back of an impressive showing at the Fazza International Para Athletics Championship in Dubai, where she won gold in shot put and bronze in discus.
Sharmila’s sporting journey began at 34, an age where many might give up or consider retirement. She contracted polio at 2 years of age which affected her right leg. She faced hardships growing up in a family struggling to meet daily needs. Her mother was blind, father was a farmer , the only earner and had little to survive.
“My mother was blind, my father was a farmer and we had very little to survive. Life was never easy”, she said.
Married at 19, she endured years of domestic violence before returning to her parents’ home with her two daughters — Anju, now 15, and Lakshmi, 13. “One night, I was beaten from 11 pm to 3 am by my first husband and thrown out of the house. I never went back,” she recalled.
If first marriage was a curse, second one proved to be a blessing for Sharmila. Her second husband Ajit Singh introduced her to para sports and encouraged her to train under coaches Tek Chand and Devendra. In 2021, she made her debut at the Para National Championships and won gold with a national record.
This was a future she could not imagine, not even in 2020. Sharmila started her sporting journey at 34, after her husband Ajit Singh introduced her to para sports .
“I’d never played any sport. And with my handicap, I couldn’t even run. I was also 34 years old. I was going to start at an age where everyone else was ending their career. Despite all this, my husband was very insistent that we explore the idea”, she said.
But in 2020, they sought Tek Chand, an Asian Para Games medallist himself, which changed everything. Within a year, she won the National Championship title in 2021 and had steadily pushed her own best to get up to 10m. Sports changed her life, and her own two daughters have already begun to emulate her, competing nationally.
The following year, she finished fourth at the Birmingham CWG, narrowly missing a medal. She placed fourth again at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou in 2023. Despite those strong performances, financial hardship persisted. To fund her career, the family sold their house in Rewari in 2023 and moved into rented accommodation. “Sport has given me a second birth. After winning medals in para CWG and Asian Games this year, I want to buy a house again,” she said.
Sharmila had finished fifth at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi last year. Beyond medals, her biggest dream is to ensure that her daughters have the opportunities she never did. Both are budding athletes — Anju competes in the under-16 javelin throw, while Lakshmi is an under-14 long jumper. Sharmila hopes sport will help them build a future free from the hardships she had to overcome.
Sharmila, now 40 , survived polio, financial difficulties, abusive marriage but nothing stopped her from reaching her goal. Her inspiring journey is an eye opener to society and a big lesson especially to girls of our society, where such hardships kill billion of dreams.
Sharmila’s story is one of extraordinary resilience and she wants to set an example for others with what she has done. “I want women to find strength to fight domestic abuse. If I win a medal, my story might just inspire them to believe it’s never really over,” she stated before leaving for Glasgow.
