In the end, India finished the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics with 10 medals: 2 gold, 3 silver and 5 bronze. In total, the 17-member squad (11 girls, 6 boys) competed in 11 sports, and nine athletes reached the podium. Above all, boxers L. Ambekar Meetei and Gunjan won India’s first-ever Youth Olympic boxing golds on the final day.
In addition, Dakar brought several firsts. For example, India won its first Youth Olympic medals in swimming, beach wrestling and wushu. Similarly, Tanvi Patri became the first Indian girl to win a badminton medal. Meanwhile, Dhinidhi Desinghu and Dev Ruparelia carried the flag. Also, you can check the full schedule and results on the official Dakar 2026 website.
India’s medal winners at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics
| Medal | Athlete | Sport | Event | Final result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | L. Ambekar Meetei | Boxing | Men’s 50 kg | Beat Kristian Jubani (IRL) 3–2 |
| Gold | Gunjan | Boxing | Women’s 48 kg | Beat Bouthaina Bensalah (ALG) 5–0 |
| Silver | Khushbu Darjada | Judo | Women’s 63 kg | Won three bouts, then lost to Reinhold (GER) by ippon |
| Silver | Tanvi Patri | Badminton | Women’s singles | Won five matches, then lost to Zhang Yi Xin (CHN) 1–2 |
| Silver | Taniya | Beach wrestling | Girls’ 75 kg | Won four bouts, then lost to Zhao Min (CHN) 1–2 |
| Bronze | Dhinidhi Desinghu | Swimming | Women’s 100 m freestyle | 56.27 |
| Bronze | Dhinidhi Desinghu | Swimming | Women’s 200 m freestyle | 2:02.28 |
| Bronze | Tirthank Pegu | Swimming | Men’s 200 m butterfly | 2:01.25 |
| Bronze | Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu | Wushu | Women’s changquan | 18.039 pts |
| Bronze | Shourya Ambure | Athletics | Women’s 100 m hurdles | 13.59 |
Gold: Boxing double at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics
L. Ambekar Meetei – Men’s 50 kg
First, Ambekar beat Faye (SEN) 5–0 in the Round of 16. After that, he beat Abraham (NAM) by unanimous decision in the quarter-final. Then, he defeated Izzon Galea Arevalo (COL) 5–0 in the semi-final. Finally, he edged Ireland’s Kristian Jubani 3–2 in a tight final.
Gunjan – Women’s 48 kg
After a first-round bye, Gunjan beat Atena Juarez Calero (MEX) 5–0. Next, she beat Great Britain’s Lily Bassett 4–1. In the final, she then dominated Algeria’s Bouthaina Bensalah 5–0, winning all three rounds on every card.
Silver: Three finals at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics
Tanvi Patri – Badminton, Women’s singles
As the third seed, Tanvi also swept her group without dropping a game. After that, she beat Kakanik (THA) 2–0 and Watanabe (JPN) 2–1. In the final, however, she lost to China’s Zhang Yi Xin 21–15, 13–21, 24–26.
Khushbu Darjada – Judo, Women’s 63 kg
First, the 15-year-old beat Camara (GUI) in golden score. Then, she won by ippon against Bouazzaoui (MAR) and Berrahoual (ALG). However, she lost the final to Germany’s Reinhold by ippon. As a result, she became India’s second Youth Olympic judo medallist, after Tababi Devi in 2018.
Taniya – Beach wrestling, Girls’ 75 kg
First of all, Taniya was unbeaten in her group, beating Bauer (GER), Karavanou (GRE) and Väster (EST). Next, she beat Hruby (USA) 3–1 in the semi-final. However, she lost the final 1–2 to China’s Zhao Min. Even so, her silver is India’s first beach wrestling medal at the Youth Olympics.
Bronze: Historic swimming medals at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics
Dhinidhi Desinghu – Swimming (2 bronze)
To begin with, Dhinidhi clocked 56.80 in the 100 m freestyle heats and then won bronze in 56.27. Similarly, she topped her 200 m freestyle heat in 2:04.51 and later took bronze in 2:02.28. Finally, she finished fifth in the 200 m individual medley in 2:23.88. As a result, she won India’s first Youth Olympic swimming medals and reached all three finals she entered.
Tirthank Pegu – Swimming
First, Tirthank qualified third for the 200 m butterfly final in 2:05.30. Then, he cut more than four seconds to win bronze in 2:01.25. In contrast, he finished fourth in the 100 m butterfly final in 54.98. In other words, he missed a second medal by just one place.
Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu – Wushu, Women’s changquan
First, the Manipur athlete placed second in the preliminary round with 17.982. Then, she scored 18.039 in the final. As a result, she won India’s first Youth Olympic wushu medal.
Shourya Ambure – Athletics, Women’s 100 m hurdles
First, Shourya ran a personal best of 13.77 to qualify from her semi-final. Later, she went even faster in the final, clocking 13.59 for bronze.
Other Indian performances at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics
| Athlete | Sport / Event | Finish | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sresht Mantena | Equestrian, Individual jumping | Final – 7th | Two clear rounds in qualifying, but then 4 penalties in the final. In addition, won team gold with mixed-nation Team Asia |
| Priyanshi Patil | Sailing, Women’s windsurfing | 6th overall | Finished sixth after a 14-race series |
| Gatha Khadake | Archery, Women’s recurve (seed 3) | Quarter-final | Won two rounds, then lost 5–6 to Yeeun Whang (USA) in a shoot-off |
| Dev Ruparelia | Badminton, Men’s singles (seed 2) | Quarter-final | Won group 3–0, then lost to Hong (CHN) 0–2 |
| Syndrela Das | Table tennis, Women’s singles (seed 8) | Round of 16 | Won group 3–0, then lost to Loy (SGP) 0–4 |
| Antra | Beach wrestling, Girls’ 65 kg | Group – 3rd | Lost twice, then won 4–0 |
| Anuj | Beach wrestling, Boys’ 70 kg | Group – 4th | Lost twice, then won 2–1 |
| Deepanshu Khokhar | Beach wrestling, Boys’ 80 kg | Group – 4th | Lost all three bouts, including two by 0–3 |
In particular, Gatha came close to a medal. For instance, she led her quarter-final 4–2 after three sets. However, she lost on the final arrow of the shoot-off.
How the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics compare
For comparison, India won 8 medals from 32 athletes at Singapore 2010. Then, at Nanjing 2014, another 32 athletes won only 2 medals. Later, at Buenos Aires 2018, 46 athletes won 13 medals, including 3 golds.
Overall, the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics were therefore India’s second-best Games for medals, after Buenos Aires 2018. Moreover, they were the most efficient: 10 medals from only 17 athletes. This is partly because shooting, weightlifting and hockey were dropped from the programme. Consequently, India’s all-time Youth Olympic tally now stands at 33 medals.
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