Ambekar Meetei, Gunjan win India's first Youth Olympics boxing golds in Dakar
By Aarav DeshpandeSports Correspondent, Peepals Yuva
Representative image: AhoPai / Pixabay
Ambekar Meetei (50kg) and Gunjan (48kg) won boxing gold at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics on 12 November, India's first in the sport, taking India to 10 medals.
What Happened
Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei and Gunjan won gold medals in boxing at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, on Thursday, 12 November 2026, the first boxing golds by Indians at the Youth Olympics. Ambekar Meetei beat Ireland's Kristian Jubani 3-2 in the men's 50kg final, and Gunjan beat Algeria's Bensalah Bouthaina 5-0 in the women's 48kg final. With both Indian boxers at the Games finishing on top of the podium, India's medal tally in Dakar rose to 10: two gold, three silver and five bronze.
Key Facts
- Ambekar Meetei, men's 50kg: beat Kristian Jubani of Ireland 3-2 in the final, becoming the first Indian boxer to win gold at the Youth Olympics.
- Gunjan, women's 48kg: beat Bensalah Bouthaina of Algeria 5-0 in the final, India's first gold in women's Youth Olympic boxing.
- Both of India's boxers at the Games won gold.
- India's tally after the boxing finals: 10 medals, with two gold, three silver and five bronze, according to reports.
- These were India's first gold medals of the Dakar 2026 Games; earlier medals included swimming bronzes for Dhinidhi Desinghu and Tirthank Pegu.
- Dhinidhi Desinghu became the first Indian to win two medals at a single Youth Olympics, according to the Olympics website.
Why It Matters
The Youth Olympics bring together the world's best teenage athletes, and success there is watched as an early sign of who could compete at senior level later. For Indian boxing, two golds from two boxers is a strong signal about its young talent.
Ambekar Meetei's final was close: a split 3-2 decision means the judges were divided. Gunjan's 5-0 win, by contrast, was a unanimous decision, showing clear control of her bout. Both wins came on the same day, giving India its first golds of the Games after a run of silver and bronze medals in other sports.
India's medals in Dakar have come from boxing, swimming and several other sports. In the pool, Dhinidhi Desinghu won two bronze medals, making her the first Indian to win two medals at one Youth Olympics, and Tirthank Pegu also won bronze. Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu added a bronze in wushu, according to reports.
Both boxers had already assured India of medals by winning their semi-finals earlier in the week. The finals turned those guaranteed medals into gold, the best possible result, and gave India's campaign its first title. For young athletes and their coaches back home, the results show that Indian teenagers can win at the top youth level in sports beyond cricket.
What matters next is the move from youth to senior level, which many young champions find hard. The national federation's choices on training camps, international exposure and competition calendars over the next few years will decide whether these golds lead to senior success.
Peepals calculation: Before the boxing finals, India had 8 medals and no gold; the two golds took the tally to 10, a 25% rise in one day (2 ÷ 8 = 0.25). Golds now make up a fifth of India's Dakar medals (2 ÷ 10 = 20%). India's two boxers won two golds, a 100% gold rate in the sport. Our calculation from the reported figures.
| India at Dakar 2026 | Count |
|---|---|
| Gold | 2 (both in boxing) |
| Silver | 3 |
| Bronze | 5 |
| Total | 10 |
Impact
Short-term: Ambekar Meetei and Gunjan return as Youth Olympic champions, and India's Dakar campaign ends on its best day.
Long-term: Both boxers become prospects for senior national squads and future international events, and their success may draw more young people to boxing programmes.
Who is affected: The two boxers and their coaches, the Boxing Federation of India's youth programme, India's Youth Olympics team, and young athletes in boxing academies.
Key Takeaway
Ambekar Meetei and Gunjan won India's first-ever Youth Olympics boxing golds in Dakar on 12 November 2026, lifting India's tally to 10 medals.
Questions and Answers
Who won India's first Youth Olympics boxing gold?
Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei, who beat Ireland's Kristian Jubani 3-2 in the men's 50kg final at Dakar 2026 on 12 November 2026. Gunjan won a second gold the same day.
Which weight class did Gunjan win at the Youth Olympics?
Gunjan won the women's 48kg title, beating Algeria's Bensalah Bouthaina 5-0 in the final.
How many medals has India won at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics?
Ten medals after the boxing finals: two gold, three silver and five bronze, according to reports.
Are these India's first golds at Dakar 2026?
Yes. Before the boxing finals, India's medals in Dakar were silver and bronze.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
By Aarav Deshpande, Sports CorrespondentCovers Sports and more for Peepals Yuva. All stories by Aarav Deshpande
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Aarav Deshpande is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration.
