Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei reaches Dakar 2026 men's 50kg final, ends India's 16-year wait

Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei reached the men's 50kg final at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Wednesday, November 11, defeating Colombia's Izzon Jeffrey Galea Arevalo 5-0 in the semifinal and ending India's 16-year wait for a finalist in the competition. All five judges scored the bout in Meetei's favour.

Meetei's run to the final recalled Shiva Thapa, the last Indian boxer to reach a Youth Olympics final at the inaugural edition in Singapore in 2010; Thapa went on to win silver in the men's 54kg category. Meetei will meet Ireland's Kristian Jubani in the gold medal bout after Jubani defeated Mexico's Alan Jesus Ocampo Cano 5-0 in the other semifinal.

Meetei's semifinal success was a unanimous decision, with the judges returning scores of 28-27, 28-27, 28-27, 29-26 and 28-27. The result completed a 5-0 verdict from the officials and moved him on to the title match.

He won all three of his bouts at Dakar to reach the final. Meetei began with a Referee Stops Contest (RSC) victory over Namibia's Abraham Kalenga at 1:57 of the opening round, a win that also assured India of a boxing medal, and then beat Senegal's Faye Cheikh Ibrahima Fall 5-0 on points in the quarterfinals before the semifinal triumph.

"Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei is into the final! He sealed a 5-0 unanimous decision victory over Jeffrey Izzon Galea Arevalo to book his place in the gold medal match! #Dakar2026 #YouthOlympics https://t.co/ekCKFPnvsH— Olympic Khel (@OlympicKhel) November 11, 2026"

The men's 50kg final is scheduled for Thursday, November 12; a victory would make Meetei India's first-ever boxing gold medallist at the Youth Olympic Games.