'Beaten For Dowry, Then For Having Daughters': Sharmila Dhankar Wins CWG Gold Against All Odds

Published 28 July 2026 · india

'Beaten For Dowry, Then For Having Daughters': Sharmila Dhankar Wins CWG Gold Against All Odds Published By, Last Updated: July 28, 2026, 10:25 IST Sharmila

'Beaten For Dowry, Then For Having Daughters': Sharmila Dhankar Wins CWG Gold Against All Odds Published By, Last Updated: July 28, 2026, 10:25 IST Sharmila Dhankar became India's first para athlete to win a Commonwealth Games gold in shot-put F57, ending a two-decade wait for India. Rapid Read Sharmila Dhankar wins historic CWG gold in shot put India’s Sharmila Dhankar achieved a historic feat on Monday as she became India’s first-ever para athlete to secure a Commonwealth Games gold. The shot-putter, at 40, turned years of hardship into a landmark achievement, becoming a household name overnight. Sharmila achieved the feat in the women’s shot-put F57 final with a season-best throw of 9.81m, also ending India’s two-decade wait for a para-athletics medal at the CWG. The journey from Chitrauli village in Haryana’s Mahendergarh district to the podium in Glasgow was, however, extremely tough.

She saw very little money as a child, with her father working as a farmer and owning a small piece of land. Her mother was visually impaired and, as reported by Sportstar, was 20 years younger than her father. Sharmila was the second of three daughters, and a son was born 10 years after the youngest girl. With minimal medical facilities, Sharmila contracted polio when she was just two, leaving her left leg permanently damaged. This was not the end of her struggles. Sharmila also went through the trauma of an abusive marriage. As reported by the magazine, she was married off soon after completing her Class 10 examinations. “He used to get drunk. He would use drugs. I worked in the fields, and I took care of cattle. It was never enough. First, he beat me because I didn’t bring the dowry he wanted.

Then he beat me because I gave birth to two daughters." “When I was 26, he beat me, stripped me naked in front of the stripped me naked in front of the neighbours and threw me out of my home with my two daughters. That was when my parents took me back home," she was quoted as saying by the magazine. She then began working as a “maid, cleaner and guard at a women’s hospital" near her village. Although the pay was modest, Sharmila said it helped her escape negative thoughts. Then came the turning point. Her second marriage at the age of 28 proved to be completely different from her earlier experience. Her partner, Ajit Singh, took her and her daughters to Rewari and encouraged her to take up para sports. The rest is history, as witnessed in Glasgow.