Manipur's Ambekar Meetei wins India's first Youth Olympics boxing gold
The boxer defeated Ireland's Kristian Jubani in the men's 50kg final at the Dakar Youth Olympics in Senegal.
Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei won India's first-ever boxing gold medal at the Youth Olympics by defeating Ireland's Kristian Jubani in the men's 50kg final in Dakar, Senegal, according to India Today, The Assam Tribune and Sportstar.
The boxer from Manipur secured a 3-2 split decision victory in a closely contested match. After losing the first round to Jubani, Ambekar Meetei won the second round and the decisive final round to claim the title.
Ambekar Meetei, who trains at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, reached the final after defeating Namibia's Abraham Kalenga in the quarterfinals and Colombia's Izzon Jeffrey Galea Arevalo in the semifinals.
This victory is India's first gold medal at the ongoing Dakar Games. Before this, the Indian contingent had collected three silver medals in badminton, judo and beach wrestling, alongside five bronze medals in swimming, Wushu and the women's 100m hurdles.
The gold is India's third medal in Youth Olympics boxing, following Shiv Thapa's silver in the 54kg category and Vikas Krishan's bronze in the 60kg event at the 2010 Singapore Games.
Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh and the Office of the Governor of Manipur congratulated the boxer, with the Chief Minister acknowledging the support of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI).