Ambekar and Gunjan secure India’s first boxing golds at Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics

Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei and Gunjan won gold medals for India in boxing at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games at the Dakar Expo Center (CICAD) in Diamniadio, Senegal on November 12, 2026, with Ambekar beating Ireland’s Kristian Jubani 3-2 in the men’s 50kg final and Gunjan defeating Algeria’s Bouthaina Bensalah 5-0 in the women’s 48kg final.

The two victories represented a first for India at the Youth Olympics in boxing, with Ambekar claiming the nation’s initial gold and Gunjan becoming the country’s first-ever female boxer to win gold at the Games. Prior to these results, India’s best boxing outcomes at the Youth Olympics were Shiva Thapa’s silver in the 60kg category at the 2010 Games and Vikas Krishan’s bronze at the 2010 edition in Singapore.

Ambekar, who trains at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala and is from Manipur, advanced to the final after stopping Namibia’s Abraham Kalenga in the first round of the quarterfinal and recording a 5-0 semifinal win over Colombia’s Izzon Jeffrey Galea Arevalo. He then held his nerve in a closely contested championship bout to prevail 3-2 over Ireland’s Kristian Jubani and secure the gold.

Haryana’s Gunjan reached the final by beating Mexico’s Atena Sofia Juarez Calero 5-0 in the quarterfinal to guarantee India a medal and then overcoming Great Britain’s Lily Bassett 4-1 in the semifinal. In the gold-medal match she recorded a 5-0 unanimous decision over Algeria’s Bouthaina Bensalah, with all five judges scoring the bout in her favour.

These two gold medals constitute India’s best performance at the Youth Olympic Games, improving the nation’s historical showing in boxing at the event.