Tirthank Pegu wins Youth Olympics bronze, becomes first Indian male swimmer with medal
The Assam swimmer took bronze in the men's 200m butterfly at Dakar 2026.
Tirthank Pegu of Assam won bronze in the men's 200m butterfly at the Dakar Youth Olympics, becoming the first Indian male swimmer to win a medal at the Games.
Key takeaways
- Tirthank Pegu won bronze in the men's 200m butterfly at Dakar 2026
- He clocked 2:01.25 seconds in the final
- He is the first Indian male swimmer to win a Youth Olympics medal
- He finished third in the heats with a time of 2:05.30
- Dhinidhi Desinghu also won bronze in the girls' 200m freestyle
Promising Indian swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu on Friday completed a spectacular double at the Dakar Youth Olympic Games, winning the bronze medal in the girls' 200m freestyle in Dakar.
Desinghu had earlier won a bronze in the corresponding 100m event, and her two-medal burst has made the 16-year-old the first Indian athlete to win multiple medals in individual events at the global youth showpiece. 59. 17.
Desinghu's achievement came on the same day that her compatriot Tirthank Pegu won the bronze medal in the men's 200m Butterfly event. 25 seconds to become the first Indian male swimmer to win a medal at the Youth Olympic Games.
30 to secure his place in the final. 14 seconds, while Egypt's Zain Ali bagged silver, clocking 2:04:31.
Pegu, an 18-year-old from Assam, had spent six weeks training in Europe, including a stint alongside India's most accomplished butterfly swimmer, Sajan Prakash.
He said his target was to go sub-two minutes in the 200m butterfly because Prakash is the only Indian swimmer who has achieved that. Pegu said training with Prakash taught him a lot about the event and about life beyond swimming.
96 in the 200m butterfly to grab bronze.
Pegu hopes strong performances by Indian swimmers on the global stage can change perceptions. His goal is to help Indian swimming reach a level where people take it seriously and support it more. For now, his complete focus remains on the Youth Olympics and the 100m and 200m butterfly events he will compete in.
The Youth Olympics is a global multi-sport event for young athletes. India participated at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires from 6 October to 18 October 2018, managing its best ever medal haul at the Youth Olympics and ranking 17th on the medals tally among 206 participating nations. The 2024 Winter Youth Olympics were held in Gangwon, South Korea, from 19 January to 1 February 2024.
Related on Apex Sports News
Dhinidhi Desinghu wins India's first Youth Olympics swimming medal with bronze
Youth Olympics 2026: Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu wins wushu bronze as Syndrela Das exits
Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics: Khushbu Rajakbhai wins judo silver
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