CWG 2026: Shot put queen Sharmila ends India's 20-year para-athletics drought

Sharmila Dhankar created history by becoming India's first Commonwealth Games para-athletics gold medallist, while high jumper Sarvesh Kushare and weightlifters Valluri Ajaya Babu and Gyaneshwari Yadav won silver medals as India enjoyed a rewarding day at the Games here.

Sharmila won the women's shot put F57 title with a season-best effort of 9.81m late on Monday, ending India's 20-year wait for a para-athletics medal at the Games. The F57 classification is for athletes with lower limb impairments, limb deficiencies or reduced muscle power.

Kushare then became the first Indian to win a silver medal in men's high jump at the Games. The 31-year-old cleared 2.25m but narrowly missed out on gold to Jamaica's Romaine Beckford on countback after both failed to clear 2.28m. England's Jack Kimani won bronze with 2.20m.

Kushare's silver improved upon the bronze won by Tejaswin Shankar in Birmingham four years ago. Tejaswin, who competed on Monday, retired after failing to clear 2.05m in his opening attempt as a precaution ahead of the decathlon.

In weightlifting, 21-year-old Valluri Ajaya Babu won silver in the men's 79kg category after totalling 330kg, including 149kg in snatch and 181kg in clean and jerk. Malaysia's Erry Hidayat Muhammad claimed gold with a Games-record total of 331kg.

Gyaneshwari Yadav had earlier won silver in the women's 53kg event with a career-best total of 199kg. Nigeria's Onome Omolola Didih took gold with 206kg.

Indian boxers Sachin Siwach, Ankush and Sakshi Chaudhary also advanced to the quarterfinals in their respective categories. However, Sumit bowed out after losing his men's 70kg round of 16 bout to Northern Ireland's Jon McConnell.

In athletics, national record holder Gurindervir Singh failed to qualify for the men's 100m semifinals after clocking 10.39 seconds in the heats.

Tejas Shirse became the first Indian to reach the men's 110m hurdles final at the Games but finished eighth after competing with an injury. He had earlier qualified for the final with a time of 13.76 seconds.

There was little success in swimming, with two-time Olympian Sajan Prakash and Aryan Nehra finishing eighth in the men's 200m butterfly and 800m freestyle finals, respectively. In para swimming, Swatik Patil finished fifth in the men's 100m breaststroke SB9 event.