The seventh day of Commonwealth Games 2026 brought golden success for India, that too from the athletics track, where news of India winning gold is rarely heard. But 23 year old Dilip Mahadu Gavit has brought such success to the country. In the Para Athletics Games going on in Glasgow, India’s Dilip Mahadu Gavit won the gold medal by running the fastest race in the 100 meter race in the T47 category. Whereas Mohammad Basil of India made his success more memorable by finishing second in the same race and winning the silver medal. This is India’s third gold in the Games and its 15th medal overall.
running at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow commonwealth games 2026 This final of Para Athletics took place on the night of Wednesday 29th July. This was the final of 100 meters in T47 category, in which there were 2 contenders from India. This has been seen only on rare occasions, when two Indians were simultaneously vying for a medal in a sprint. But both of them not only participated in this final but also made the situation of the country better by winning gold and silver along with an excellent race.
The game changed in just 30 meters, silver also went to India
But Gavit won this race in a completely different style. As soon as the start of the race was announced by firing the air gun, Mohammad Basil of India and Kevin Santos of England made a great start. Both of them were continuously leading in the race from the beginning and it seemed that only one of them would win the gold. But as soon as the last 30 meters distance was left, Dilip increased his speed as if he was sitting on a rocket.
He gained such a pace straight from the fifth place that he breathed his last after securing the first place. He won the race with a time of 10.71 seconds, which became a new record for this category in the Commonwealth Games. There was a wonderful photo finish between Basil of India and Santos of England, in which Basil won the silver medal by finishing second by a slight margin.
Hand cut off at young age, but did not accept defeat
Dilip Mahadu, who hails from Nashik district of Maharashtra, was born in 2023. But after a few years his right hand had to be amputated. When he was young, he once fell from a tree, due to which his right hand had to be amputated. Since then, he has been living his life with only one hand, but during this time, athletics emerged as a big support for him. Gavit learned the methods of sprinting under the supervision of a local coach. In 2019, he was part of the Maharashtra team in the Khelo India Games.
The biggest success of Dilip’s life came in the 2023 Hangzhou Para-Asian Games. Here he surprised everyone by winning the gold medal in 400 meter race in T47 category. However, after this he changed his racing and tried his hand in 100 meters instead of 400 meters. This decision ultimately proved to be correct and now after the Asian Games, he has created history by winning the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games also.
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