India’s athletics campaign at the Commonwealth Games 2026 got off to a flying start on Monday as Sharmila Dhankar ended the country’s 20-year wait for a para athletics medal by winning gold in the women’s F57 shot put, while Shilpa K Shyla secured bronze in the same event. Sarvesh Kushare added to India’s tally with a silver medal in the men’s high jump.
Dhankar produced a season-best throw of 9.81m to clinch the title, becoming the first Indian woman and the country’s first para athletics gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games.
Shyla made it a double podium finish for India in the event with a personal-best throw of 7.26m. The bronze came after Nigeria’s Eucharia Iyiazi had one of her attempts ruled invalid, promoting the Indian into the medal positions.
Kushare, meanwhile, continued his breakthrough season by clearing 2.25m in the men’s high jump final. He failed in all three attempts at 2.28m to settle for silver behind Jamaica’s Romaine Beckford, who claimed gold on countback. England’s Kimani Jack took bronze with a clearance of 2.20m.
The medal was the latest milestone in an impressive season for the 24-year-old. Earlier this month, Kushare became only the fourth Indian athlete to finish on the podium at a Diamond League meeting after placing third in Monaco. Last month, he also broke Tejaswin Shankar’s eight-year-old national record with a 2.31m leap at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar.
India’s other high jumpers endured mixed fortunes. Aadarsh Ram finished fifth after failing to clear 2.20m, while Birmingham 2022 bronze medallist Tejaswin Shankar withdrew after appearing to injure himself during his opening unsuccessful attempt at 2.05m.
Earlier on Monday, Tejas Shirse scripted history by becoming the first Indian athlete to qualify for a Commonwealth Games men’s 110m hurdles final.
The national record holder advanced after clocking 13.76 seconds to finish third in his heat and sixth overall in the qualifying round, with the top three athletes in each heat and the next two fastest progressing.
However, Shirse’s campaign ended in heartbreak. The 24-year-old pulled up midway through the final before hobbling across the finish line in 15.39 seconds to finish last. Jamaica’s Demario Prince won the title in 13.17 seconds.
India also enjoyed success in the men’s long jump qualification. Commonwealth Games 2022 silver medallist Murali Sreeshankar secured automatic qualification for Wednesday’s final with a first-attempt leap of 8.01m, becoming the only athlete in Group A to breach the eight-metre qualifying standard.
Lokesh Sathyanathan also advanced to the final after registering 7.77m to finish among the 12 qualifiers.
National record holder Gurindervir Singh, however, bowed out in the men’s 100m heats despite finishing second behind Jamaica’s Rohan Watson in Heat Four with a time of 10.39 seconds.
The Indian sprinter placed 28th overall among 73 competitors, missing out on the semi-finals. A time of 10.24 seconds was required to progress after seven athletes received byes into the last four.
India’s medal tally at the Commonwealth Games 2026 stands at 10, featuring two gold medals, four silver medals and three bronze medals.
Here is the complete sport-wise list of Indian athletes who have made the podium.
India’s medallists from CWG 2026
| No. | Athlete | Event | Sport | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jhandu Kumar | Men’s heavyweight | Para powerlifting | Bronze |
| 2 | Rishikanta Singh | Men’s 60kg | Weightlifting | Silver |
| 3 | Mirabai Chanu | Women’s 48kg | Weightlifting | Gold |
| 4 | Muthupandi Raja | Men’s 65kg | Weightlifting | Silver |
| 5 | Gyaneshwari Yadav | Women’s 53kg | Weightlifting | Silver |
| 6 | Bindyarani Devi | Women’s 58kg | Weightlifting | Bronze |
| 7 | Sharmila Dhankar | Women’s shot put F57 | Para athletics | Gold |
| 8 | Sarvesh Kushare | Men’s high jump | Athetics | Silver |
| 9 | Shilpa K Shyla | Women’s shot put F57 | Para athletics | Bronze |
| 10 | Valluri Ajaya Babu | Men’s 79kg | Weightlifting | Silver |
