Ambekar Meetei wins India's first Youth Olympics boxing gold in Dakar
The Manipuri boxer secured a 3-2 victory against Ireland's Kristian Jubani in the men's 50kg final.
Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei won the gold medal in the men's 50kg boxing event at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. According to the Times of India, the Manipuri boxer defeated Ireland's Kristian Jubani in a closely fought final to secure a 3-2 victory on the judges' scorecards.
The victory marks India's first-ever boxing gold medal at the Youth Olympics. India Today reported that the win also provided the country's first gold medal at the ongoing Dakar Games, following previous silver and bronze finishes in badminton, judo, beach wrestling, swimming, women's 100m hurdles and Wushu.
Ambekar Meetei reached the final after a 5-0 unanimous points victory over Colombia's Izzon Jeffrey Galea Arevalo in the semifinals. This semifinal performance ended a 16-year wait for an Indian boxer to reach a Youth Olympics final, matching the milestone set by Shiva Thapa at the 2010 Singapore Games.
In the final against Jubani, all five judges initially awarded the first round to the Irish opponent. Ambekar Meetei fought back to win the second round with three of the five judges scoring in his favour, before earning the verdict from four judges in the final round to secure the 3-2 win.
The boxer from Manipur trains at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala.