Manipur boxer Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei makes history with India's first Youth Olympics gold

Manipur's Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei scripted history on November 12 by becoming the first Indian boxer to win a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games, defeating Ireland's Jubani Kristian 3-2 in the men's 50kg final at Dakar 2026.

The victory not only marked a landmark moment for Indian boxing but also secured the country's first gold medal at the ongoing edition of the Games, taking India's overall medal tally to nine, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) said in a press note.

India had never won a boxing gold at the Youth Olympic Games before Ambekar Meetei's triumph. The country now has one gold, three silver and five bronze medals, placing it ninth in the overall standings.

India could add another gold to its tally later on Thursday, with Gunjan set to compete in the women's boxing final at 10.30 pm IST. She entered the title clash after defeating Great Britain's Lily Bassett 4-1 in the semi-finals.

Ambekar Meetei had also delivered a dominant performance in the last-four stage, defeating Colombia's Izzon Jeffrey Galea Arevalo 5-0 to book his place in the final.

India's medal haul at Dakar has come across several disciplines, including athletics, wrestling, judo, badminton, swimming and wushu.

In athletics, Shourya Ambure won bronze in the women's 100m hurdles with a personal best of 13.59 seconds, becoming the first Indian woman to win an athletics medal at the Youth Olympic Games.

Taniya secured silver in the women's 75kg wrestling category, giving India its first-ever youth wrestling medal at the competition. She lost 1-2 to China's Min Zhao, the 2025 U17 World Wrestling Championships gold medallist in the 69kg category, in the final.

Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada in women's 63kg judo and Tanvi Patri in badminton also won silver medals.

Swimming added three medals to India's tally. Dhinidhi Desinghu claimed bronze in both the women's 100m and 200m freestyle events, becoming the first Indian athlete to win multiple medals at a single edition of the Youth Olympic Games.

Tirthank Pegu also secured bronze in the men's 200m butterfly, becoming the first Indian male swimmer to win a medal at the event.

Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu completed India's medal tally in wushu with a bronze in the women's changquan combined event.

India's best-ever Youth Olympic Games campaign came in 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the contingent won 13 medals, comprising three gold, nine silver and one bronze.

With Ambekar Meetei's historic victory and Gunjan's final still to come, India have a chance to further strengthen their medal tally at the Dakar Games.