Ambekar Meitei wins India's first Youth Olympics boxing gold, beating Ireland's Cristian Zubani 3-2

Indian boxer Larenlakpam Ambekar Meitei has made history at the Summer Youth Olympics 2026. In the men's 50 kg final, the young boxer from Manipur beat Ireland's Cristian Zubani 3-2 to win the gold medal. Ambekar is the first Indian boxer to win a boxing gold at the Youth Olympics.

The final did not begin easily for Ambekar. In the first round, all five judges ruled in favour of Ireland's Zubani, putting the Indian under pressure. But Ambekar did not give up and made a strong comeback in the second round, in which three of the five judges ruled in his favour.

In the third and deciding round, Ambekar raised his game further, with four of the five judges ruling for him. He won the final by an overall margin of 3-2 and claimed the historic gold.

His win also opened India's gold medal account at the Dakar Youth Olympics. Before this, Indian athletes had won three silver and five bronze medals across different sports, including wrestling and swimming.

His路 run to the final was also impressive. He began the tournament with a win over Namibia's Abraham Kalenga, who was declared beaten in the first round at 1 minute 57 seconds under the referee stops contest (RSC) rule.

In the quarter-final he beat Senegal's Fe Cheikh Ibrahima Fall 5-0 in a one-sided bout. The winning run continued in the semi-final, where he beat Colombia's Ijon Jeffrey Galia Arevalo 5-0 to reach the final.

Looking at India's boxing history at the Youth Olympics, Shiva Thapa won silver in the men's 54 kg category at the first Youth Olympics in Singapore in 2010. In the same event, Vikas Krishan won bronze in the men's 60 kg category.

Ambekar Meitei has now gone a step beyond both, bringing India its first Youth Olympics boxing gold. His success adds a new page to the pride of Indian boxing.