Dilip Gavit becomes first Indian male para-athlete to win gold at Commonwealth Games
Dilip won India’s third gold at the Glasgow Games
Another Indian para-athlete made history at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland, as Dilip Gavit became the country’s first male para-athletics gold medallist.
The 23-year-old sprinter from Maharashtra broke the Commonwealth Games record in the men’s 100m T47 final on Wednesday, July 29, finishing first with a season-best time of 10.71 seconds. This made him the third Indian athlete overall to win a gold medal at the Glasgow Games.
This victory marks another landmark chapter in Indian para-athletics. Earlier on Tuesday, Sharmila Dhankar became the country’s first-ever para-athletics gold medallist, winning the women’s shot put F57 gold with a season-best throw of 9.81m. This ended India’s two-decade wait for a CWG para-athletics medal.
Related: Commonwealth Games 2026: India’s updated schedule for Day 7 (July 30)
Dilip Gavit’s stunning comeback gold
Gavit’s journey at the CWG 2026 was an interesting one. He usually competes in the 400m T47 event, having won gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games and competing in the same event at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
However, as the 400m race was dropped from the Commonwealth Games programme at the stripped-down Glasgow Games, he was forced to switch to the 100m sprint, a discipline with which he was not extremely familiar.
This affected his start on Wednesday, with Gavit nowhere near the medal positions in the opening 60 metres. Instead, Ghana’s Hayford Addai, England’s Kevin Santos, and compatriot Mohammed Basil Morssinganakath were in the leading positions, along with the reigning silver medallist Jaydon Page of Australia.
However, in the final 40 metres, Gavit completely flipped the script. While the other runners began to slow down, he turned on the afterburners and accelerated past Page, Santos, and Basil to cross the line in 10.71 seconds, shattering the existing CWG record.
Related: Commonwealth Games 2026: India’s medal tally after Day 6, 29th July
Basil caps dreams international debut with silver
The event was extra special for the Indian para-athletics contingent as Mohammed Basil Morssinganakath secured second place with a season-best time of 10.83 seconds. It marked a superb Commonwealth Games debut for the Kerala native, who is currently the national champion in the 100m T47 event.
As a result, India secured their second double podium finish, and first in the top two positions, in the CWG para-athletics, marking yet another achievement for the country’s para-athletes.
Earlier, Dhankar and Shilpa Shyla had bagged gold and bronze, respectively, in the women’s shot put F57 event. On the opening day, para powerlifter Jhandu Kumar opened the country’s medal tally with a bronze in the men’s heavyweight competition.
Where and when will Commonwealth Games 2026 take place?
The Commonwealth Games 2026 will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to August 2.
What CWG record did Dilip Gavit achieve at CWG 2026?
He became the first Indian male para‑athletics gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games, winning the men’s 100m T47 final with a record time of 10.71s.
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Sushruta has spent over two years covering football, with a particular focus on Indian and international competitions. Alongside football, he has reported on a variety of sports, bringing curiosity and perspective to every story. When he’s not following the action, he can usually be found binge-watching movies or getting lost in a good book.