New Delhi: For Sharmila Dhankar, each throw carries the weight of a rebuilt life. From growing up in poverty in Haryana’s Mahendragarh district and surviving domestic abuse in her first marriage to selling the family home to pursue her sporting dream, the 40-year-old para shot putter has turned adversity into ambition as she prepares for her second Commonwealth Games (CWG).On Monday evening, Sharmila wrote history by becoming India’s first ever Commonwealth Games para-athletics gold medallist. She delivered a remarkable performance by winning the women’s shot put F57 title with a season-best effort of 9.81m, ending the country’s 20-year wait for a para-athletics medal at the Games. The last para-athletics medal of the CWG was won by Ranjith Kumar Jayaseelan in the men’s seated discus throw event in the 2006 edition.The F57 classification is for athletes with lower body disabilities, leg disabilities or reduced muscle strength.The sitting thrower, who also competes in the discus, heads into the Games on the back of an impressive performance at the Fazza International Para Athletics Championship in Dubai, where he won gold in the shot put and bronze in the discus.Her journey in the sport only started at the age of 34. Sharmila contracted polio at the age of two, which affected her right leg and grew up in a family that struggled to make ends meet. “My mother is blind, my father is a farmer and we live on very little. Life is not easy at all,” he told TOI.Married at 19, she endured years of domestic violence before returning to her parents’ home with her two daughters – Anju, now 15, and Lakshmi, 13. “One night, I was beaten from 11 pm to 3 am by my first husband and kicked out of the house. I never came back,” she recalled.His life changed after his second marriage. Husband Ajit Singh introduced her to para sports and encouraged her to train under coaches Tek Chand and Devendra. In 2021, he made his debut at the Para National Championships and won gold with a national record.The following year, he finished fourth at the Birmingham CWG, narrowly missing out on a medal. He placed fourth again at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou in 2023. Despite those strong performances, financial difficulties continued. To fund his career, the family sold their house in Rewari in 2023 and shifted to rented accommodation. “The sport gave me a second birth. After winning medals at para CWG and: Asian Games this year, I want to buy a house again,” he said.Sharmila finished fifth at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi last year. Beyond the medals, her biggest dream is to make sure her daughters have the opportunities she didn’t. Both are budding athletes – Anju competes in the under-16 javelin throw, while Lakshmi is an under-14 long jumper. Sharmila hopes that the sport will help them build a future free from the difficulties she had to overcome.