Kenya must nurture Youth Olympics stars for a brighter future

New Delhi witnessed India's Shourya Ambure achieve a historic moment at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games as she clinched the country's first track and field medal, a bronze in women's 100m hurdles. The 17-year-old hurdler from Maharashtra broke her own personal best with a time of 13.59 seconds to finish third in the final, narrowly missing out on the silver by just 0.02 seconds.

Competing as India's only track and field athlete, Ambure not only broke her personal best twice within the same day but also improved her performance in the final, clocking 0.18 seconds less than the previous best she set during the semi-finals. China's Zhang Keyi secured the gold with a time of 13.17 seconds, while France's Anna Peeters claimed the silver in 13.57 seconds.

This remarkable achievement brings India's total medal count at the Dakar Youth Olympics to eight, including three silvers and five bronzes. Earlier in the Games, wrestler Taniya won silver in the women's 75kg beach wrestling category, while Indian swimmers Dhinidhi Desinghu and Tirthank Pegu added three more medals, one each in the women's 100m and 200m freestyle events, and the men's 200m butterfly event, respectively.