Shillong-born para shot putter Soman Rana has made history by winning the gold medal in the men’s F57 shot put event at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. This achievement adds another glorious chapter to India’s growing success in para sports.
Rana produced a season-best effort of 13.40 metres to emerge victorious in a fiercely contested final, securing the top spot on the podium and delivering one of India’s standout performances of the Games. The triumph also underlined the athlete’s remarkable rise after having previously won a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Para Games.
India celebrated a memorable one-two finish in the event as Shubham Juyal claimed the silver medal with a season-best throw of 13.28m, while Cedric Azamdzi of Cameroon settled for bronze after registering 12.57m.
Rana’s gold medal is the culmination of a remarkable journey marked by resilience and determination. His life changed forever on December 1, 2006, when he lost part of his right leg in a landmine explosion while serving with his Army unit in a field area of Jammu and Kashmir.
Refusing to let the life-altering injury define him, Rana rebuilt his career through para athletics. His perseverance earned him a place at the Army Paralympic Node in 2017, where he began intensive training that transformed him into one of India’s leading para throwers.
