Dhinidhi Desinghu won India’s first Youth Olympic swimming medal, a bronze in the 100m freestyle, and 15-year-old judoka Khushbu Darjada took silver in the under-63kg category on Monday, giving India its first two medals at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
Dakar, Senegal: India had sent 17 athletes in 11 sports to the first Olympic event ever staged in Africa, and it had to wait until the second day of competition for a medal. When they came, they came in a rush, one from the pool and one from the tatami, both won by teenagers.
Dhinidhi finds her best when it counts
Dhinidhi Desinghu, 16, from Bengaluru, qualified for the 100m freestyle final with the third-fastest heat time, 56.80 seconds. In the final she cut 0.53 seconds from that mark. Her 56.27 was a personal best and earned bronze behind Croatia’s Ana Bobanovic, who won in 55.89, and New Zealand’s Alyssa Lawson, who took silver in 56.13.
The medal is India’s first in swimming at a Youth Olympic Games, and Dhinidhi is also the first Indian woman to reach a Youth Olympic swimming final. She was already familiar with the big stage. At Paris 2024 she was the youngest member of India’s Olympic contingent, swimming the 200m freestyle at 14.
Khushbu falls one bout short of gold
Khushbu Darjada, 15, from Gujarat, made her way through the under-63kg bracket with a 1-0 win in her opening bout and a run of ippon scores, one of them against Algeria’s Dounia Berrahoual. That took her into a final against Germany’s Jolina Reinhold, a Cadet world champion.
Reinhold, Germany’s flag bearer, won by ippon, giving her country its first medal of the Games. Khushbu’s silver was still historic. She is only the second Indian judoka to win a Youth Olympic medal, after Thangjam Tababi Devi took silver in the girls’ 44kg category at Buenos Aires 2018. A win would have given India its first Youth Olympic judo gold.
A promising run for Indian sport
The two medals add to a strong autumn for Indian athletes at youth and senior level. Manisha Bhanwala became India’s first woman world champion in wrestling in Astana on 30 October, and India’s Para athletes piled up medals at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya, including 27 on a single day.
India’s contingent in Dakar continues across its 11 sports in the coming days, now with two medals already in the bag.
Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, Monday 2 November:
Swimming, 100m freestyle final: 1 Ana Bobanovic (Croatia) 55.89; 2 Alyssa Lawson (New Zealand) 56.13; 3 Dhinidhi Desinghu (India) 56.27.
Judo, under-63kg final: Jolina Reinhold (Germany) beat Khushbu Darjada (India) by ippon.
