Dhinidhi Desinghu Wins India's First Ever Swimming Medal In Youth Olympics, Khushbu Rajakbhai Enters Judo Final

Teenage swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu won bronze in the women’s 100m freestyle at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar on Monday, while judoka Khushbu Rajakbhai became only the second Indian to reach a judo final at the event. Khushbu has assured herself of at least silver in the women’s 63kg category.

Dhinidhi clocked 56.27 seconds to finish third. Croatia’s Ana Bobanovic took gold in 55.89 seconds and New Zealand’s Alyssa Lawson claimed silver in 56.13 seconds.

Khushbu’s run has put her one win away from a first for Indian judo at the Youth Olympics. She will now chase gold later on Monday in Dakar after a strong run through the draw.

Dhinidhi’s Bronze Swim

Dhinidhi delivered again.

The 16-year-old from Bengaluru had topped her heat earlier in 56.80 seconds. That effort took her into the final as the third-fastest qualifier.

Only Bobanovic and Lawson were quicker in the heats. Bobanovic swam 56.22 seconds and Lawson 56.53, leaving Dhinidhi ranked third before the medal race.

Khushbu’s Historic Run

Khushbu now stands on the brink of history.

She will face Germany’s Cadet world champion Jolina Reinhold in the final later on Monday. A win would make her India’s first judoka to win Youth Olympic gold.

India have had only one judo medallist at the Games so far. Thangjam Tababi Devi won silver in the women’s 44kg category at Buenos Aires in 2018, which remains the country’s only medal in the sport at this event.

A gold would also put Khushbu in rare company. The 15-year-old would become only the fourth Indian overall to win Youth Olympic gold after shooters Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary, and weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga, who achieved the feat in 2018.

Path To Final

Khushbu has dominated the field.

She opened with a 1-0 yuko win over Guinea’s Mamaissata Camara in the round of 16. A yuko is a minor scoring point awarded for an effective technique.

The Gujarat judoka then outclassed Morocco’s Abir Bouazzaoui in the quarterfinals by ippon. She followed that with another ippon win over Algeria’s Dounia Berrahoual to surge into the final.

Her semifinal opponent was handed a ‘Hansoku-make’. That is the most serious penalty in judo and brings immediate disqualification, giving Khushbu an automatic ippon victory.