Ambekar Meitei Lairenlakpam stopped Namibia’s Abraham Kalenga in the first round and Gunjan beat Mexico’s Atena Sofia Juarez Calero 5-0, putting both Indian boxers into the Dakar Youth Olympics semi-finals and guaranteeing India at least two more medals, with ten now secured in total.
Dakar, Senegal: India’s two boxers at the Youth Olympic Games both won their quarter-finals on Tuesday 10 November, and the result is simple arithmetic: a semi-final place at the Games guarantees at least bronze. Ambekar Meitei Lairenlakpam in the men’s 50kg and Gunjan in the women’s 48kg now have medals in hand and the chance to go higher.
Ambekar ends it inside two minutes
Ambekar needed only 1 minute 57 seconds against Namibia’s Abraham Kalenga. The referee stopped the contest in the first round, after Kalenga had taken three standing counts. It was the second win of the tournament for Ambekar, who earlier beat host nation Senegal’s Cheikh Ibrahima Fall 5-0 in the pre-quarter-final. He now meets Colombia’s Izzon Jeffrey Galea Arevalo in the semi-final.
Gunjan wins on all five cards
Gunjan’s quarter-final went the distance. She beat Mexico’s Atena Sofia Juarez Calero by a unanimous 5-0 decision to reach the last four of the 48kg division. Her semi-final opponent is Britain’s Lily Bassett.
Ten medals secured
India had won eight medals in Dakar before the boxing quarter-finals, three silver and five bronze, including Shourya Ambure’s 100m hurdles bronze, Taniya’s beach wrestling silver and Tirthank Pegu’s 200m butterfly bronze. The two boxing medals take the secured total to ten. India’s best Youth Olympics haul is 13 medals, won at Buenos Aires in 2018.
Both semi-finals are still to be boxed, and the colour of each medal will be decided there.
Quarter-finals, Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, 10 November 2026: Men’s 50kg: Ambekar Meitei Lairenlakpam (India) beat Abraham Kalenga (Namibia) by referee stopping the contest, round 1. Women’s 48kg: Gunjan (India) beat Atena Sofia Juarez Calero (Mexico) 5-0. Semi-finals: Ambekar v Izzon Jeffrey Galea Arevalo (Colombia); Gunjan v Lily Bassett (Great Britain).
