Rajkumari wins India's first wushu medal at Youth Olympics

Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu won a historic bronze medal for India in wushu at the Youth Olympic Games 2026 in Dakar, Senegal on Tuesday, taking the country's medal tally to three.

Rajkumari won bronze in the women’s changquan combined wushu event. She scored 8.723 in gunshu and 9.316 in changquan for a combined total of 18.039, finishing third. Egypt’s Sondos Sonbol claimed the gold medal with a total score of 18.660 while Venezuela’s Valeria Frannerys Dudamel Alvarado took silver (18.199).

This is the first time that wushu is part of Youth Olympics programme as a medal sport. The changquan combined event is a routine-based (taolu) wushu discipline that combines a bare-handed routine and a weapon routine. The scores of both are added for a final total. The competition spanned three days and the top eight qualified for the final round. Rajkumari placed second among 12 athletes in the preliminary stage with a total of 17.982.

Rajkumari, who hails from Manipur, was the only Indian in wushu and displayed remarkable grit to win a medal. This was India's third medal at the Dakar Youth Olympics. On Monday, Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada won silver in the women’s judo (63kg category) and swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu bagged bronze in the women’s 100m freestyle.

"Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu has created history for Indian wushu by winning first-ever medal in the sport at the Youth Olympics. It was possible because of her hard work and determination and the hard work of coached and support staff," the Wushu Association of India said in a statement.