NNIS Sports broke the news of the Indian team that will represent the country at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

India will send a 35-member contingent to Dakar 2026, including 17 athletes — 11 female and six male — along with coaches, physiotherapists and the Chef de Mission.

In athletics, according to reports, India had been allocated two quota places. Athletics federation of India (AFI) had selected another athlete, Vishnu, in the 5,000m race walk, following his gold-medal-winning performance at the Youth Nationals.

However, his entry was subsequently dropped from the updated list due to an issue with his passport.

As a result, Shourya Ambure remains India’s only representative in athletics at Dakar 2026.

The final squad list has been sanctioned by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

The 17 athletes selected are:

  1. Gatha Anandrao – Archery
  2. Shourya Ambure – Women’s 100m Hurdles
  3. Tanvi Patri – Women’s Singles (Badminton)
  4. Dev Ruparelia – Men’s Singles (Badminton)
  5. Gunjan – Women’s 48kg (Boxing)
  6. Ambekar Lairenlakpam – Men’s 50kg (Boxing)
  7. Sresht Raju – Individual Jumping (Equestrian)
  8. Khushbu Darjada – Women’s -63kg (Judo)
  9. Priyanshi Patil – Women’s Windsurfing
  10. Dhinidhi Desinghu – Women’s 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle and 200m Individual Medley (Swimming)
  11. Tirthank Pegu – Men’s 100m Butterfly and 200m Butterfly (Swimming)
  12. Syndrela Das – Women’s Singles (Table Tennis)
  13. Antra – Women’s 65kg (Beach Wrestling)
  14. Taniya – Women’s 75kg (Beach Wrestling)
  15. Anuj Anuj – Men’s 70kg (Beach Wrestling)
  16. Deepanshu Khokhar – Men’s 80kg (Beach Wrestling)
  17. Lanchenbi Chanu – Women’s Changquan Combined (Wushu Taolu)

The Games were initially scheduled for 2022 but were postponed by four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous Summer Youth Olympic Games were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2018.

India has won 23 medals across the three previous editions, with its best performance coming at the 2018 edition in Buenos Aires, where the country secured 13 medals — three gold, nine silver and one bronze.

In athletics, India won two medals in 2018: a silver in the boys’ 5,000m race walk through Suraj Panwar and a bronze in the men’s triple jump through Praveen Chithravel.

However, for the Dakar 2026 edition, only one Indian athlete, Shourya Ambure, has been selected in athletics, competing in the women’s 100m hurdles.

This raises an important question: why has India’s participation dropped so sharply, from 46 athletes (25 boys and 21 girls) competing across 13 sports in Buenos Aires 2018 to just 17 athletes — 11 female and six male — in Dakar 2026?

There are several factors behind the reduced representation.

A smaller overall athlete quota

Dakar 2026 will mark the first time an Olympic sporting event is held on African soil.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has capped the total number of athletes at 2,700 for Dakar 2026. In comparison, approximately 4,000 athletes participated in Buenos Aires 2018.

Changes to the sports programme

The number of competition sports has also been reduced. Dakar 2026 will feature 25 sports, with only one discipline from each sport included in the competition programme.

Another 10 sports will be part of an engagement programme. Athletes will get opportunities to experience and promote these sports, but there will be no medal competitions in them.

This is particularly significant for India because some sports in which the country participated in Buenos Aires 2018, including hockey, shooting, sport climbing and weightlifting, are now part of the engagement programme rather than the medal competition.

A revised quota allocation system

The quota system is another important factor behind India’s limited representation.

Unlike previous editions, the IOC will centrally manage the allocation of athlete slots in collaboration with National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and International Federations. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is involved in the allocation process for India’s contingent.