Dhinidhi Desinghu wins historic Youth Olympics swimming bronze for India

Dhinidhi Desinghu won bronze in the women’s 100m freestyle at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar on Monday.

The 16-year-old from Bengaluru finished in a national-record 56.27 seconds, improving her own previous mark of 56.57.

Croatia’s Ana Bobanovic won gold in 55.89 seconds, and New Zealand’s Alyssa Lawson took silver in 56.13.

Desinghu was fifth at the halfway point but moved up to third with a strong finish.

The medal is India’s first in swimming at the Youth Olympics and makes her the first Indian swimmer to win a medal at an Olympic event, including the senior Games.

She competed at the Paris 2024 Olympics at age 14, finishing 23rd in the 200m freestyle, and has said she grew to love swimming after initially finding the water difficult.