In Brief
- Historic Milestone: Lanchenbi Chanu secured India's first-ever Wushu medal at the Youth Olympic Games, where the sport is making its medal debut.
- Scoring Breakdown: Competing in the taolu discipline, she recorded a combined score of 18.039, earning 8.723 in gunshu and 9.316 in changquan to finish third on the podium.
- Comeback Performance: After ranking fourth following the initial gunshu routine, Chanu successfully climbed into the bronze-medal position with her strong changquan performance.
- Medal Tally: Her podium finish marked India's third medal of the campaign, joining a silver in judo and a bronze in swimming.
India has secured its first-ever Wushu medal at the Youth Olympic Games, courtesy of 15-year-old Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu. Hailing from Manipur, the young athlete delivered a brilliant performance in Dakar, Senegal, to capture a historic bronze.
Navigating the Competition in Dakar
Competing in the women's changquan combined event—which falls under the judged taolu routines of competitive wushu—Chanu faced a tough international field. Placed fourth following her gunshu routine (8.723 points), she bounced back strongly with a 9.316 score in changquan. Her combined score of 18.039 propelled her past competitors to lock down the third spot on the podium.
Egypt's Sondos Sonbol claimed the gold medal with a combined 18.660, while Venezuela's Valeria Frannerys Dudamel Alvarado took silver with 18.199. Reflecting on her intense international debut, Chanu admitted to initial nerves competing against elite athletes, but quickly composed herself to seal the milestone win.
Boosting India’s Campaign
Chanu's breakthrough bronze serves as India's third medal at the ongoing Youth Olympics, adding to earlier successes by judoka Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada (silver) and swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu (bronze). With wushu making its official medal debut at these Games, Chanu's achievement sets a monumental benchmark for the sport's development and future generations of martial artists in India.
