Historic gold for Sharmila in para athletics, Malayali Sajan Prakash finishes eighth in CWG 200m butterfly final

Glasgow: India celebrated a landmark day at the Commonwealth Games as Sharmila Dhankar became the country's first-ever para athletics gold medallist late on Monday night. However, there was little cheer for Kerala as Malayali swimmer Sajan Prakash finished eighth in the men's 200m butterfly final.

Sharmila scripted history by winning the women's shot put F57 title with a season-best throw of 9.81m, ending India's 20-year wait for a para athletics medal at the Games. The last para athletics medal in 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 limb impairments, limb deficiencies or reduced muscle power.

Meanwhile, the two-time Olympian from Kerala Sajan Prakash clocked 1:58.05 to finish eighth in the 200m butterfly final. Fellow Indian Aryan Nehra also placed eighth in the men's 800m freestyle final with a time of 8:07.26, while para swimmer Swatik Patil finished fifth in the men's 100m breaststroke SB9 event.

National record holder Sarvesh Kushare added another milestone by becoming the first Indian to win a silver medal in the men's high jump at the Commonwealth Games. The 31-year-old cleared 2.25m, missing out on gold on countback after tying with Jamaica's Romaine Beckford, who also failed at 2.28m.

Weightlifting continued to be India's biggest source of medals. Valluri Ajaya Babu claimed silver in the men's 79kg category with a total lift of 330kg (149kg snatch and 181kg clean and jerk), finishing just one kilogram behind Malaysia's Erry Hidayat Muhammad.

Earlier in the day, Gyaneshwari Yadav won silver in the women's 53kg category with a career-best total of 199kg, while Bindyarani Devi secured bronze in the women's 58kg event with the same overall lift.

In boxing, Sachin Siwach, Ankush and Sakshi Chaudhary advanced to the quarterfinals in their respective weight categories to move within one win of a medal. However, Sumit bowed out after a split-decision defeat in the men's 70kg round of 16.

Athletics produced mixed results. National record holder Tejas Shirse became the first Indian to qualify for the Commonwealth Games men's 110m hurdles final but finished eighth after sustaining a navicular stress fracture during the warm-up. Sprinter Gurindervir Singh also exited in the men's 100m heats after clocking 10.39 seconds.