Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei beat Ireland’s Jubani Kristian 3-2 in the 50kg final and Gunjan beat Algeria’s Bouthaina Bensalah 5-0 at 48kg, giving India its first two Youth Olympic boxing golds and its first two golds of the Dakar Games, lifting the medal tally to 10.
Dakar, Senegal: India had never won a Youth Olympic boxing gold. On Thursday it won two, the second only hours after the first, as Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei and Gunjan both finished on top of the podium in Dakar and gave India its first gold medals of the Games.
Ambekar Meetei wins a split decision
Ambekar Meetei was first into the ring in the men’s 50kg final and beat Ireland’s Jubani Kristian 3-2 on a split decision to become the first Indian boxer to win a gold medal at the Youth Olympics. He had reached the final with a unanimous win over Colombia’s Izzon Jeffrey Galea Arevalo, one of India’s two semi-final wins a day earlier. Eight months before, in Bangkok, he had lost a World Boxing Futures Cup final to a Ukrainian opponent and settled for silver.
Gunjan dominates the 48kg final
Gunjan then made it a double in the women’s 48kg final, beating Algeria’s Bouthaina Bensalah 5-0 on a unanimous decision after dominating all three rounds, and became the first Indian woman to win Youth Olympic boxing gold. She had come through her semi-final on a 4:1 split decision, while Bensalah edged Italy’s Michela Guglielmon 3:2 to set up the final. In March, Gunjan had lost the Futures Cup final in Bangkok 5-0 to an England boxer.
A perfect record for Indian boxing
Both Indian boxers in Dakar reached the final and both won it, a 100 per cent success rate according to a Boxing Federation of India release. Before Thursday, two Indian boxers had finished on a Youth Olympic podium, at the 2010 Games in Singapore: Shiva Thapa with silver and Vikas Krishan with bronze. BFI president Ajay Singh called the double a historic moment for Indian boxing and Indian sport, and said it reflected the progress being made in building a talent pipeline, with the focus now on developing the young champions into world-class senior boxers.
India’s Dakar tally reaches 10
The two golds took India’s medal count in Dakar to 10: two gold, three silver and five bronze. The silvers came from Tanvi Patri in badminton, Taniya in beach wrestling and Khushbu Darjada in judo. The bronzes came from Shourya Ambure in the 100m hurdles, Dhinidhi Desinghu in two freestyle swimming events, Tirthank Pegu in the 200m butterfly and Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu in wushu. The total is three short of the 13 medals India won at Buenos Aires in 2018, its previous best, when it took three golds, nine silvers and one bronze.
Finals: Men’s 50kg — Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei (India) beat Jubani Kristian (Ireland) 3-2. Women’s 48kg — Gunjan (India) beat Bouthaina Bensalah (Algeria) 5-0. Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, 12 November 2026.
India’s Dakar medals so far: 2 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze (10).
