Months after ACL surgery, hurdler Shourya Ambure clinches bronze at 2026 Youth Olympics

For the last four years from the moment Shourya Ambure knew about the existence of the Youth Olympic Games, to the past year that she spent recovering from a knee surgery, the 17-year-old kept the 2026 edition at the forefront of her ambitions and motivation.

Competing in her first international race after the surgery, all the 100m hurdler from Thane had set out to do was give her best for India. She did just that, twice, to win the women's 100m hurdles bronze medal at the Dakar Youth Olympics with a timing of 13.59 seconds on Sunday. Shourya is the first Indian female track athlete to medal at the Youth Olympics.

"There were only tears in her eyes, my eyes, and her parents' eyes," Ajit Kulkarni, Shourya's coach, told HT from Dakar. "This was a very close race, but she did great."

Shourya's personal best (PB) before Friday was 13.86s, as per the World Athletics, although Kulkarni said she had clocked 13.73s at the 2025 Asian Youth Games in Bahrain that hasn’t been registered on the WA website.

Irrespective, on her young career's biggest day and test, Shourya ensured she would have a new PB to her name.

In the semi-finals on Friday from where the top four made the final, she clocked 13.77s to finish second among eight competitors and qualify for the medal race a few hours later. There, she went even better, crossing the finish line at 13.59s to pip Austria's Fiona Schwarz (13.76s). China's Keyi Zhang (13.17s) and France's Anna Peeters (13.57s) took the gold and silver, respectively.

Shourya soaked in the moment by draping the Tricolour and walking around the track. At the start of the year, she could not walk, staying on crutches for one month after surgery for an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury on her left leg.

Some golden words of advice from India's star long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, a lot of work with her coach on and off the track in the months that followed, and plenty of self-manifestation meant Shourya was back in shape for Dakar.

"I had a photo of the Youth Olympics on the wall of my room and as my phone wallpaper. I was manifesting being there," Shourya had told HT before leaving for Dakar.

"We had sleepless nights for the past eight months," said Kulkarni. "This medal will mean a lot to her."

This medal also adds to the teen's cabinet that also comprises bronze at the 2025 Asian U-18 Athletics Championships and two silver medals at last year’s Asian Youth Games.

“We had been preparing for this competition since 2022. I had told her that you have an apt chance for this, as per your age. The only thing is that you will have to open up the quota through the Asian door,” said Kulkarni. “She did that, and she proved her capability here.”