From surviving a mine blast to overcoming a life-changing accident, Soman Rana and Shubham Juyal turned adversity into a memorable gold-silver finish for India at the Commonwealth Games.
India's para athletics contingent signed off from the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in spectacular fashion as Soman Rana and Shubham Juyal clinched gold and silver respectively in the men's shot put F57 event. Their dominant finish was more than just another medal-winning performance. It reinforced India's growing strength in para athletics, where multiple Indian athletes repeatedly shared the podium throughout the Games.
Rana secured the gold medal with a best throw of 13.40m on his second attempt. Juyal followed closely with 13.28m, achieved on his final throw, to claim silver. Cameroon's Cedric Azamdzi settled for bronze with 12.57m, finishing well behind the Indian duo, who entered the competition as overwhelming favourites. Their credentials were evident even before the event, with Rana boasting a personal best of 15.17m and Juyal 14.86m.
The double podium finish capped India's most successful Commonwealth Games campaign in para sports. The country finished with seven medals overall, six of them from para athletics, including three gold medals. Significantly, every athletics gold medal was accompanied by another Indian medallist in the same event. Earlier in the Games, Sharmila Dhankar and Shilpa Shyla won gold and bronze respectively in the women's shot put F57 competition, while Dilip Gavit and Mohammed Basil claimed gold and silver in the men's 100m T47 race. A bronze medal in para powerlifting completed India's tally.
For Rana, the gold medal represents the culmination of an extraordinary journey marked by sacrifice and resilience. The 43-year-old joined the Gorkha Rifles as a sepoy in 2001 after growing up in a farming family. Five years later, while serving along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, he was severely injured in a landmine explosion that resulted in the amputation of his leg below the knee.
His rehabilitation at the Army's Artificial Limb Centre in Pune became a turning point. There, Rana discovered para athletics and later joined the Army Paralympic Node in 2017, beginning a second career that would eventually take him to the international stage.
Since then, Rana has steadily built an impressive résumé. He won gold at the 2023 Indian Open Para Athletics Championship and followed it with a silver medal at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou. Although he narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Paralympics and fifth place in Paris, the Commonwealth Games title finally gave him the major international gold that had long remained out of reach.
Juyal's story is equally remarkable. The 30-year-old from Roorkee also trains at the Army Paralympic Node in Pune. Inspired by his father, a retired Naib Subedar, he had hoped to join the Indian Army and successfully cleared the written examination for the Army Cadet College entry scheme in 2022.
However, a serious motorcycle accident while travelling for his Services Selection Board interview changed his life forever. During rehabilitation in Pune, he was offered a choice between pursuing a vocational diploma or taking up para sport. He chose the latter, a decision that has transformed his future.
Earlier this year, Juyal won gold at the Indian Open Para Athletics Grand Prix. His silver medal in Glasgow now stands as the first major international medal of his career and signals the arrival of another promising Indian para athlete.
The journeys of Rana and Juyal, shaped by military service, life-changing injuries and extraordinary determination, also highlight the growing role of institutional support in Indian para sports. Training programmes such as the Army Paralympic Node are producing athletes capable of competing consistently at the highest level.
For a nation that has long struggled with limited investment in para sports infrastructure, India's performances in Glasgow offer more than just medals. They demonstrate that with sustained support, professional coaching and opportunity, the country's para athletes are capable of becoming regular contenders on the global stage. Rana and Juyal's gold and silver sweep is not merely a memorable finish to the Games. It is another milestone in India's rapidly evolving para sports story.
India's para athletics contingent signed off from the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in spectacular fashion as Soman Rana and Shubham Juyal clinched gold and silver respectively in the men's shot put F57 event. Their dominant finish was more than just another medal-winning performance. It reinforced India's growing strength in para athletics, where multiple Indian athletes repeatedly shared the podium throughout the Games.
Rana secured the gold medal with a best throw of 13.40m on his second attempt. Juyal followed closely with 13.28m, achieved on his final throw, to claim silver. Cameroon's Cedric Azamdzi settled for bronze with 12.57m, finishing well behind the Indian duo, who entered the competition as overwhelming favourites. Their credentials were evident even before the event, with Rana boasting a personal best of 15.17m and Juyal 14.86m.
The double podium finish capped India's most successful Commonwealth Games campaign in para sports. The country finished with seven medals overall, six of them from para athletics, including three gold medals. Significantly, every athletics gold medal was accompanied by another Indian medallist in the same event. Earlier in the Games, Sharmila Dhankar and Shilpa Shyla won gold and bronze respectively in the women's shot put F57 competition, while Dilip Gavit and Mohammed Basil claimed gold and silver in the men's 100m T47 race. A bronze medal in para powerlifting completed India's tally.
For Rana, the gold medal represents the culmination of an extraordinary journey marked by sacrifice and resilience. The 43-year-old joined the Gorkha Rifles as a sepoy in 2001 after growing up in a farming family. Five years later, while serving along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, he was severely injured in a landmine explosion that resulted in the amputation of his leg below the knee.
His rehabilitation at the Army's Artificial Limb Centre in Pune became a turning point. There, Rana discovered para athletics and later joined the Army Paralympic Node in 2017, beginning a second career that would eventually take him to the international stage.
Since then, Rana has steadily built an impressive résumé. He won gold at the 2023 Indian Open Para Athletics Championship and followed it with a silver medal at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou. Although he narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Paralympics and fifth place in Paris, the Commonwealth Games title finally gave him the major international gold that had long remained out of reach.
Juyal's story is equally remarkable. The 30-year-old from Roorkee also trains at the Army Paralympic Node in Pune. Inspired by his father, a retired Naib Subedar, he had hoped to join the Indian Army and successfully cleared the written examination for the Army Cadet College entry scheme in 2022.
However, a serious motorcycle accident while travelling for his Services Selection Board interview changed his life forever. During rehabilitation in Pune, he was offered a choice between pursuing a vocational diploma or taking up para sport. He chose the latter, a decision that has transformed his future.
Earlier this year, Juyal won gold at the Indian Open Para Athletics Grand Prix. His silver medal in Glasgow now stands as the first major international medal of his career and signals the arrival of another promising Indian para athlete.
The journeys of Rana and Juyal, shaped by military service, life-changing injuries and extraordinary determination, also highlight the growing role of institutional support in Indian para sports. Training programmes such as the Army Paralympic Node are producing athletes capable of competing consistently at the highest level.
For a nation that has long struggled with limited investment in para sports infrastructure, India's performances in Glasgow offer more than just medals. They demonstrate that with sustained support, professional coaching and opportunity, the country's para athletes are capable of becoming regular contenders on the global stage. Rana and Juyal's gold and silver sweep is not merely a memorable finish to the Games. It is another milestone in India's rapidly evolving para sports story.
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