Dhinidhi Desinghu created history in the 2026 Youth Summer Olympics |courtesy – Swimming Federation of India
\n\n16-year-old swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu has etched her name in the history books by winning India's first medal in the ongoing 2026 Summer Youth Olympics, which are taking place in Senegal's capital, Dakar. The teenager won the bronze medal in the women's 100m freestyle event. Croatia's Ana Bobanovic won gold (55.89 seconds), while New Zealand's Alyssa Lawson settled for silver (56.13 seconds)
\n\nThis marks a historic moment for the sport in India, as it is the first instance of an Indian swimmer winning an Olympic medal in either the senior or junior category, either a man or a woman. She recorded a national record (NR) time of 56.27 seconds, beating her own mark of 56.56 seconds, which she set earlier this year in Ahmedabad at the Commonwealth swimming championship.
\n\nThe teenager hails from Bengaluru and started taking swimming lessons in 2018 (aged 8) as a leisure activity. Although now a pioneer of the sport in India, she initially hated it and only pursued it because of her mother. “My mom used to kind of push me in. Later on, I grew to like the sport.
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/sports
