Former soldier Soman Rana wins India's first Commonwealth Games gold in para shot put

Soman Rana, a former member of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles who lost his right leg in a 2006 mine explosion along the Line of Control, returned to sport as a para shot-putter. Fitted with a prosthetic in Pune, he was encouraged by Colonel Gaurav Dutta to focus on seated throws and began training in 2017. Despite missing the 2018 Asian Para Games, he placed fourth in Tokyo, won silver at the 2023 Asian Para Games, and bronze at the 2025 World Championships.

At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Rana threw 13.40 m to secure India's first gold in the men's F57 shot put, while teammate Shubham Juyal took silver and Cameroon’s Cedric Azamdzi earned bronze. His victory follows support from Bihar’s sports scholarship scheme and central government incentives, and he now aims for the upcoming Para Asian Games in Japan.