India, July 29 -- What once started as an initiative to rebuild her life has now led to bringing laurels for the country. Para athlete Sharmila Dhankar has made history by clinching the first-ever gold medal for India with her performance at the ongoing Commonwealth Para-Athletic Games, in Glasgow (Scotland). At the age of 40, the para sportsperson won the women's F57 shot put and the season's best throw of 9.81m.

Flashback to the time when she was born in a humble set-up at Chitrauli village in Haryana's Mahendragarh district. Her father is a farmer, and her mother was visually impaired. At the age of two, Sharmila contracted polio that left her left leg permanently affected as she could not avail timely medical care. Thus began a child...