Khattar Hails Sharmila Dhankhad's Historic CWG 2026 Gold
Synopsis
Para athlete Sharmila Dhankhad from Rewari, Haryana, won the Women's Shot Put F57 gold at CWG 2026 in Glasgow, giving India its first-ever para athletics gold at the Commonwealth Games. Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar hailed her achievement as a national inspiration.
Key Takeaways
Sharmila Dhankhad of Rewari, Haryana won gold in the Women's Shot Put F57 at Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow .
This is India's first-ever para athletics gold at the Commonwealth Games.
Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar publicly congratulated Sharmila on 28 July 2026 .
Khattar described her as turning disability into strength through 'indomitable willpower.' The F57 classification covers seated field athletes with lower-limb impairment.
Haryana has a long record of producing top Indian athletes; Sharmila's gold adds a historic para athletics chapter.
A girl from Rewari, Haryana, has just written her name into Commonwealth Games history. Para athlete Sharmila Dhankhad won the Women's Shot Put F57 gold at CWG 2026 in Glasgow — becoming the first Indian to claim a para athletics gold at the Commonwealth Games. Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was among the first to mark the moment, posting a heartfelt tribute on Tuesday, 28 July 2026.
Khattar's post captured the arc of Sharmila's journey in a single line: 'Rewari se Glasgow tak ka shandar safar' — 'a magnificent journey from Rewari to Glasgow.' He described her as turning disability into strength through sheer willpower, and called the achievement an inspiration for 'the daughters and athletes of the nation.'
Rewari's Daughter, India's First Para Athletics Gold at CWG
The F57 classification covers seated field athletes — competitors who have impairment affecting the legs but retain full trunk and arm function. Winning gold in this category on the Commonwealth stage is no small feat; the event draws competitors from across the Commonwealth's para athletics programmes. Sharmila's throw in Glasgow did not just earn a medal — it opened an account India had never held before in para athletics at the Commonwealth Games. Khattar, a former Chief Minister of Haryana and one of the BJP's most prominent faces from the state, has long positioned Haryana as a nursery for Indian sport. The state has produced a disproportionate share of India's Olympic and international medallists, and Sharmila's gold adds a historic para athletics chapter to that record.A Milestone That Reframes Para Sport's Place in Indian Athletics
India's engagement with para sport has deepened steadily over the past decade, with Paralympic medal tallies rising and government recognition for para athletes expanding. A Commonwealth Games gold — in a mainstream multi-sport event that draws wide public attention — carries a different kind of visibility. It places para athletes on the same prime-time scoreboard as their able-bodied counterparts. For a district like Rewari, which sits in the heartland of Haryana's sporting belt, Sharmila's achievement is also a local story of infrastructure, coaching, and family support converting raw talent into global gold. Khattar's public congratulations, directed personally at 'Beti Sharmila,' signal that the political establishment is watching — and that recognition, when it comes, reaches all the way back to the district. India now has its first Commonwealth Games para athletics gold. The next question is whether the systems that produced Sharmila Dhankhad can be scaled — and whether Glasgow marks a beginning, not just a milestone.Point of View
The tribute is also politically resonant — Haryana's identity as a sporting powerhouse is a point of consistent pride for the state's BJP leadership. The broader arc here is India's rising para sport profile, accelerated by strong Paralympic performances in recent years and now extended to the Commonwealth stage. Whether this moment translates into sustained institutional investment in para athletics infrastructure will be the real measure of its significance.
NationPress
28 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sharmila Dhankhad?
Sharmila Dhankhad is a para athlete from Rewari district in Haryana, India, who competes in the Shot Put F57 category for seated field athletes.
What did Sharmila Dhankhad win at CWG 2026?
She won the gold medal in the Women's Shot Put F57 event at the Commonwealth Games 2026 held in Glasgow, Scotland.
Why is Sharmila Dhankhad's gold medal historic?
It is India's first-ever gold medal in para athletics at the Commonwealth Games, a milestone that had not been achieved before CWG 2026.
What is the F57 classification in para athletics?
The F57 classification is for seated field athletes who have impairment affecting the legs but retain full trunk and arm function.
Why did Manohar Lal Khattar congratulate Sharmila Dhankhad?
Khattar, Union Minister of Power and a former Chief Minister of Haryana — Sharmila's home state — posted a tribute on X praising her historic gold and calling her an inspiration for the country's daughters and athletes.
