Youth Olympics 2026: Dhinidhi Desinghu rues missed gold despite achieving a new first for India

When young Dhinidhi Desinghu touched the finish-pad at the 100m freestyle race of 2026 Youth Olympics in Dakar, she had accomplished a new first for Indian swimming.

It was the country’s first medal at this edition of the Games, first by an Indian swimmer in the history of the Games and also made her the first by an Indian women swimmer in an Olympic final.

On Monday, Dhinidhi clocked 56.27s in 100m freestyle to register a personal best and Best Indian time to make the podium at the Dakar Aquatic Centre.

“I feel so excited. In the morning, I went sub-57s, which I've never done. So I knew that there'll be something special going into finals. I really wanted to clock 55s and win gold. But, I still cut down some time and I went 56.27, so I'm very proud of that,” Dhinidhi told The Bridge from Dakar.

"It being the country's first medal is like the cherry on top. But then, obviously, I wanted gold. So I'm hoping that I get gold in the coming events,” she added.

The 17-year-old from Bengaluru felt the confidence from the moment she swam the morning heats. She clocked 56.58s in the heats before bettering it to 56.27s in the final.

"I was excited"

The youngster was placed fifth after the first 50m split before sprinting her way to a third-place finish.

“When I got to the pool, the vibes were good. I was really excited to race, and there was a very different fire inside of me that really wanted to win. In the call room, I was excited which I think played in my favour.

“I wanted to open quicker, which didn't really happen. But my turn underwater felt a lot better. I was able to come back a lot stronger. So this kind of made me think, I can probably do 200m a lot better because I have that closing speed,” Dhinidhi, who was on of the flagbearers for the country at the opening ceremony, said.

Dhinidhi received her medal from eight-time world-record holder and multiple Olympic medallist Emma McKeon, who herself won a Youth Olympic medal in 2010.

“I was more starstruck when we were standing on the podium. And Emma McKeon was giving us the medal. She was also like, “Oh, that's very impressive.” I was fangirling at that,” Dhinidhi shared with a chuckle.

Dhinidhi will also be competing in the 200m freestyle and 200m Individual Medley later in the meet.

A big win for Indian women swimmers

The win, according to Dhinidhi, could make a significant difference to how women’s swimming is perceived in India. The country did not field any women in the swimming contingent at this year’s Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

“It's really big. Going into the meet no female has made the final let alone a medal. It's mostly the men who have been doing it. So to say that the first swimming medal is by a girl is really big. We can show that we are good at this sport and can do well on the world stage,” she said.

Dhinidhi also became the first Indian swimmer to serve as a flagbearer for the country’s contingent at the Youth Olympics.

"My mom was telling me there's a chance I might be the flagbearer and I was like, there's no way. For a swimmer, it's not common. You would see people like Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu as flagbearers. I was expecting somebody from badminton or athletics. You don't really see swimmers as the flagbearer," she said. 

"I got the news two days before the ceremony. I was very thrilled. I didn't get to hold the flag, which was kind of sad. But I got to walk down the big stage, and that was a very proud feeling to hold the flag for the country," she added.

Earlier, Tirthank Pegu had registered India's best-ever performance at the games with a fourth-place finish in boys' 100m butterfly. Pegu surpassed Srihari Nataraj's sixth-place finish at the 2018 Games in Buenos Aires.