India names 17-member squad in 11 sports for Dakar Youth Olympics

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has announced India's team for the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympics, to be held in Senegal. The team has 17 athletes, who will represent the country in 11 sports. The IOA hopes they will perform well in Dakar and bring glory to the country.

The Dakar Youth Olympics will be held from October 31 to November 13. It is the first time an Olympic event is being held on the African continent, and the competition is therefore being seen as historic. About 2,700 young athletes are expected to take part across 25 sports, with 207 delegations in all.

Young Indian table tennis player Sarthak Arya is among the athletes preparing for Dakar. He is confident the Youth Olympics will prove an important milestone in his sporting career. Sarthak said his dream is to represent India at the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad and the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.

He also said that if India is awarded the 2036 Olympics, winning an Olympic medal while playing in his own country would be a matter of special pride for him.

IOA president P.T. Usha has wished the young Indian athletes well. She said Dakar 2026 is a big opportunity for young athletes' careers and that they are the future of Indian sport. Usha is also confident that medallists who will represent India at Brisbane 2032 and later Olympics could emerge from among these athletes.

Usha also congratulated the organising committee of Dakar 2026 and the Senegal Olympic Committee on the first Olympic event on the African continent.

During the event in Dakar, the IOA will get a chance to hold talks with national Olympic committees from around the world. The discussions will focus on identifying young athletes, developing their talent and strengthening opportunities from the youth level to higher-level sporting competitions.

In addition, P.T. Usha is likely to sign memorandums of understanding on sports cooperation and exchange with the national Olympic committees of some African countries, including Namibia and Mauritius. These steps are expected to speed up India's long-term sports development efforts.