Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated para athlete Shilpa Kanchugarakoppalu Shyla after she claimed the bronze medal in the Women’s Shot Put F57 final at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow, praising a performance he described as remarkable given it came with a personal best throw.
Taking to X, the Prime Minister wrote that Shilpa’s showing at the Games was brilliant, congratulating her for the medal and noting that achieving it with a personal best made the feat all the more significant.
Shilpa’s road to the podium carried an unusual twist. She had initially finished fourth in the final, but was elevated to third place after a subsequent review disqualified a competing athlete’s result, opening the bronze slot for the Indian competitor. The reshuffled standings meant India secured two medals in the same event, with a fellow Indian athlete retaining gold with a season best effort, underscoring the depth Indian para athletics has built in the shot put discipline heading into this edition of the Commonwealth Games.
For Shilpa, the medal represents more than a podium finish. Her journey to elite competition has been built on overcoming significant personal adversity, and her performance in Glasgow adds to a growing list of Indian para athletes making their presence felt on the international stage this year. The Commonwealth Games F57 category is reserved for athletes with specific lower limb impairments who compete from a seated throwing position, and results in the event are frequently decided by fine margins, as this year’s contest demonstrated.
The Prime Minister’s congratulatory message follows a familiar pattern of the government publicly recognising India’s para athletes alongside able bodied competitors, a shift that has gained visibility in recent years as India’s overall medal tally in international para sport has grown. Officials and sports administrators have repeatedly pointed to such recognition as important not just symbolically but for the message it sends to aspiring young athletes with disabilities across the country.
With the Glasgow Games still underway, Indian contingents across multiple disciplines continue to compete for medals, and further announcements of national recognition are expected as results are finalised in the coming days. Shilpa’s bronze adds to India’s growing medal count at the 2026 edition of the Commonwealth Games.
