India's Dhinidhi Desinghu Wins Bronze In Swimming at Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics

Swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu at the 2026 Youth Olympics podium.© X/Twitter

India's Dhinidhi Desinghu has made history. The 16-year-old has now become the first Indian female swimmer to win a medal at the Youth Olympics. The 2026 edition of the marquee youth event is being held in Dakar, Senegal. The teenager clocked 56.27 seconds to finish third behind Croatia's gold medallist Ana Bobanovic (55.89 seconds) and New Zealand's silver medallist Alyssa Lawson (56.13 seconds).

NDTV spoke to Desinghu's coach, Nihar Ameen, after the historic medal. "She has been working really hard. This year, she has broken the national record three times. She is in form. She has another shot at a medal in the 200m freestyle event. In fact, she has a better chance of winning another medal there," he said. "Dhinidhi is mentally very tough. She has already competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics. We are very hopeful that she will win another medal at this Youth Olympics."

Earlier, Desinghu became the first Indian female swimmer to qualify for a Youth Olympics final after advancing to the women's 100m freestyle medal race on Monday. The Bengaluru swimmer clocked 56.80 seconds to top her heat and finish third-fastest overall, behind Croatia's Ana Bobanovic (56.22 seconds) and New Zealand's Alyssa Lawson (56.53 seconds).

Two-time Olympian Srihari Nataraj in 2018 and Tirthank Pegu in the ongoing edition are the other two Indian swimmers to have made the final of the Youth Olympics.

Dhinidhi was the youngest member of the Indian contingent at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In judo, Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada won her women's 63kg category bout against Mamaissata Camara of Guinea. The 15-year-old Indian secured a 1-0 victory by yuko in her round-of-16 bout.

Yuko is a minor scoring point in judo awarded for an effective technique.

Khushbu's opponent was also handed a minor penalty, "1er Shido", by the referee. It is awarded for a minor rule infringement, such as passivity, a false attack, stepping out of bounds or an illegal grip.

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