Dhinidhi Desinghu completed a historic double at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games by winning her second bronze medal. The 16-year-old swimmer finished third in the girls’ 200m freestyle final. She became the first Indian athlete to win multiple medals in individual events at a single Youth Olympic Games edition.
Dhinidhi Desinghu completed a historic double at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, becoming the first Indian athlete to win multiple medals in individual events at the competition. The 16-year-old swimmer added a second bronze to her tally after finishing third in the girls’ 200m freestyle final, following her podium finish in the 100m freestyle.
Desinghu clocked 2:02.28 in the 200m final, finishing behind China's Chang Mohan, who claimed gold in 1:59.59, and Croatia's Ana Bobanovic, who took silver in 2:01.17. The Indian swimmer held on to third place in the closing stages to secure her second medal in Dakar.
The 200m freestyle was always going to be the bigger test for Desinghu. After her first medal in the 100m freestyle, her coach Nihar Ameen had underlined in an earlier interview with IndiaToday, that the shorter distance was not her main event. It was the 200m freestyle that he had been looking towards, hoping the confidence from her historic first podium finish would carry into the race.
For Desinghu, the 100m bronze had already been a landmark moment. She became the first Indian swimmer to win a medal at the Youth Olympic Games, ending India's wait for a swimming podium at the competition. The second bronze has now taken that achievement further, making her the first Indian to win medals in two individual events at a single edition of the Youth Olympics.
There was also a personal target on the line in the 200m final. Desinghu had been hoping to improve her personal best of 2:01.81, set at the 12th Asian Age Group Championships 2026, where she won gold in the 50m pool event. Her Dakar timing of 2:02.28 left her 0.47 seconds short of that mark.
While the personal best remained elusive, Desinghu leaves Dakar with two medals and a place in Indian sporting history. Her double bronze has given Indian swimming a significant moment on the Youth Olympic stage and underlined her potential in the pool.