DAKAR: India won two gold medals in boxing at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal on Thursday, with Ambekar Lairenlakpam Meetei and Gunjan claiming titles in their respective categories.
Ambekar defeated Ireland’s Kristian Jubani 3-2 in the men’s 50kg final, while Gunjan beat Algeria’s Bouthaina Bensalah 5-0 in the women’s 48kg category.
The two victories took India’s medal tally at Dakar 2026 to 10, comprising two gold, three silver and five bronze medals. The results also marked India’s first boxing gold medals at the Youth Olympic Games.
Seventeen-year-old Ambekar began his boxing journey in 2018 at the National Sports Academy in Imphal before joining the national camp in Patiala.
Gunjan, who hails from Haryana’s Hansi district, began boxing in 2021. She trains at the Manjeet Lohan Boxing Club in Hisar.
India had previously won two boxing medals at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Shiva Thapa secured silver in the men’s 54kg category, while Vikas Krishan won bronze in the men’s 60kg event.
India’s two gold medals in Dakar mark a milestone for the country’s boxing campaign at the Youth Olympic Games. The 2026 edition concludes on Friday, November 13.
(With inputs from media reports)