New Delhi: Some stories write themselves, and Sharmila Dhankar’s gritty journey of fortitude and resilience is one of them. The celebration of her rise from the lowest point burnishes her achievement. The 39-year-old from Chhithroli village in Haryana’s Mahendragarh district achieved a grand high on a chilly Monday evening at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Competing in the para shot put F57 event, Sharmila hurled the 3kg iron ball the farthest (9.81m) in the field, becoming India’s first CWG gold medallist in para athletics.
Her season’s best effort also made her the first Indian woman to win a para athletics medal at the Games. Compatriot Shilpa Shyla was awarded the bronze (7.26m) following a protest. Nigeria’s Eucharia Iyiazi looked set to take the third spot, but her final attempt was ruled a foul after Sharmila drew the attention of the officials, leading to Shilpa’s elevation.
“I noticed Iyiazi’s feet move while throwing and her belt wasn’t fastened properly either, all of which constitutes a foul. I took it up with technical officials who reviewed her throw and ruled it illegal,” Sharmila told HT from Glasgow in an interaction felicitated by SAI.
Sharmila, who boasts of a personal best of 10.03m achieved at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, produced a series of 9.48m, 9.58m, 9.81m, 9.17m, 9.37m and 9.60m. Such was her dominance that any of her efforts could’ve fetched her gold. Ghana’s Zinabu Issah (8.65m) took silver.
“The feeling is yet to sink in. I hear there were celebrations in my village. My daughters are proud of me. What else can I ask?” she gushed.
Second among four siblings, Sharmila was born to an impoverished household. Her father was a small-time farmer and her blind mother had the onerous task of raising the children. “There were days when we barely had enough to eat,” she said. Sharmila contracted polio at the age of two, which meant much of her childhood was spent fielding barbs from friends and acquaintances besides enduring the physical disadvantage.
She was married off at 19 — “because that’s how it is in our parts” — and things went worse. Her husband, who she chose not to name, often beat her mercilessly.
“It started sporadically, and then it became the norm. He would get drunk and thrash me. First it was about dowry, then for giving birth to girls. There were times I thought of ending my life,” said Sharmila, a mother to two daughters. The abuse went on for seven years and things reached a tipping point when one day her husband threw her out of their house with her daughters.
“That’s when my family brought me home and I decided not to go back to that man.”
Sharmila re-married two years later to Ajit, a mechanic with limited means, who accepted her daughters and “motivated me to do something with my life.”
Encouraged by this, Sharmila enrolled at the Rao Tularam Stadium near their home in Rewari in 2020. She was 34. “Most athletes retire at that age, and here I was, looking for a fresh start.”
She trained under Tek Chand, a bronze medallist in the F54/55 shot put at the 2018 Asian Para Games. Two years on, she was at the Birmingham CWG, where she finished fourth. Another fourth-place finish followed at the 2023 Asian Para Games.
“I was not happy with the results, and looking at the sacrifices my family was making, I felt an overpowering sense of guilt,” she said, recalling days when her husband and kids went empty stomach to ensure she got her fill. After her father passed away in 2023, Sharmila’s mother sold their small patch of land for ₹24 lakh to fund her daughter’s career. Ajit joined in, selling their 25 square yard house in Sonepat for ₹10 lakh.
“They wanted me to excel at the 2025 Worlds, but a fifth-place finish is all I could manage,” she said. “That’s why, my only target this time was gold. I couldn’t have settled for anything else.” Her daughters have taken after their mother. The 15-year-old Anuj trains in javelin while 13-year-old Lakshmi is trying out long jump.
The mother and daughters now train and dream together.
“I dream of competing in the next CWG with my daughters,” she said. “There’s also the Asian Para Games and Paralympics coming up, and the target once again will be gold.
“I want women to find strength to fight domestic abuse. Don’t be scared, take your chances and life might just turn around.”
