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India finish Dakar Youth Olympics with 10 medals and two boxing golds

India ended the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar with two gold, three silver and five bronze medals across seven disciplines.

By , Sports writer

· 2 min read

Boxing, general photo
Boxing (general photo, not from this event) Photo: nbelokonskaya / Pixabay, Pixabay Content License

India concluded its Dakar 2026 campaign with 10 medals, its second-best Youth Olympics tally. Boxing delivered two historic golds through L. Ambekar Meetei and Gunjan.

Key takeaways

  • India won 10 medals: two gold, three silver and five bronze
  • L. Ambekar Meetei won boys' 50kg boxing gold
  • Gunjan won girls' 48kg boxing gold
  • Dhinidhi Desinghu won two swimming medals, a first for an Indian at one Youth Olympics edition
  • Nine of 17 Indian athletes won medals

India concluded the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games with 10 medals: two gold, three silver and five bronze, marking the country’s second-best performance in the history of the competition.

The medal-winning campaign spanned seven disciplines, with five Khelo India athletes among the medallists: Tanvi Patri in badminton, Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada in judo, Shourya Ambure in athletics, Gunjan in boxing and Tirthank Pegu in swimming.

Nine of India’s 17 athletes returned with medals, while swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu became the first Indian athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the Youth Olympic Games, according to a SAI Media release.

India’s 10-medal tally was surpassed only by its 13-medal performance at the 2018 Youth Olympics.

Historic boxing double leads India’s Dakar campaign

Boxing delivered India’s biggest success story, with Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei winning gold in the boys’ 50kg category and Gunjan claiming gold in the girls’ 48kg category.

These were India’s first-ever gold medals in boxing at the Youth Olympic Games and marked the country’s first boxing gold double at the competition.

Rediff reported that Ambekar beat Ireland’s Kristian Jubani 3-2 in the men’s 50kg final, while Gunjan defeated Algeria’s Bouthaina Bensalah 5-0 in the women’s 48kg final, with all five judges scoring Gunjan’s bout in her favour.

With two gold medals, India also recorded its second-highest gold medal tally in a single edition of the Youth Olympic Games.

Breakthrough medals across seven disciplines

Republic World reported that Gunjan and Lairenlakpam Meetei won India’s first boxing golds, Shourya Ambure won the first athletics medal, and Taniya won the first youth wrestling medal.

India won medals in seven of the 11 sports it competed in, including first-time medals in swimming, beach wrestling and wushu. Tanvi Patri won silver in badminton women’s singles, becoming the first Indian woman to win a Youth Olympic badminton medal.

Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada won silver in girls’ 63kg judo. Taniya won silver in girls’ freestyle 75kg beach wrestling, marking India’s first-ever beach wrestling medal at the Youth Olympic Games.

Shourya Ambure won bronze in girls’ 100m hurdles, becoming the first Indian woman to win an athletics medal at the Youth Olympic Games. Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu won bronze in girls’ changquan combined wushu, India’s first medal in wushu at the Youth Olympics.

Dhinidhi Desinghu won bronze in girls’ 100m and 200m freestyle swimming, and Tirthank Pegu won bronze in boys’ 200m butterfly swimming. Swimming contributed three of India’s 10 medals, making it the country’s most productive sport at the games.

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