Polio at two, abuse at 19: Commonwealth Games gold at 39, Sharmila Dhankar's remarkable rise

Some victories are measured in medals. Others are measured in the battles fought long before an athlete steps onto the podium.

When Sharmila Dhankar stood atop the podium after winning gold in the women's shot put F57 event at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, she was not just celebrating India's first-ever Commonwealth Games gold medal in para athletics.

She was celebrating survival, resilience and the courage to rebuild a life that had once seemed shattered.

Born on August 15, 1986, in Haryana's Chitrauli village, Dhankar grew up in a financially struggling family.

Her father worked as a farmer, while her mother was visually impaired. At the age of two, she contracted polio, leaving her with permanent damage to her left leg.

Life tested her relentlessly even after childhood. Married at 19, she endured years of domestic violence before walking away from the abusive relationship with her two daughters, Anju and Lakshmi.

Recalling the ordeal, she said she was beaten for four hours one night before being thrown out of her home, a moment that convinced her never to return.

Her life changed after her second marriage. Encouraged by her husband Ajit Singh, Dhankar entered para sports at the age of 34, an age when many athletes are nearing retirement.

Training under coaches Tek Chand and Devendra, she announced herself by winning gold at the 2021 Para National Championships in her very first appearance.

She also set a national record with a throw of 7.40 metres in the F57 category, meant for athletes with lower limb impairments or reduced muscle power.

Despite finishing fourth at both the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the 2023 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, Dhankar refused to give up.

Financial hardships continued to haunt her family, forcing them to sell their house in Rewari in 2023.

Her perseverance finally paid off in Glasgow, where she rewrote history by becoming India's first para athletics gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games.

Yet, her dreams extend beyond the medal. Dhankar now hopes to buy back a house after aiming for another successful campaign at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya.

‘Sport has given me a second birth,’ she said, a simple statement that perhaps best captures a journey defined not by adversity alone, but by an extraordinary refusal to surrender.