Youth Olympics
Youth Olympics 2026: Why does India only have 17 athletes? Explained
The absence of multiple sports has contributed to India's smallest Youth Olympics contingent.
Youth Olympics 2026 (Photo credit: Francois Nel/GETTY IMAGES)
The 2026 Youth Olympics got underway on Sunday in Dakar, Senegal, with a 17-member Indian contingent set to be in action over the next two weeks.
The total of 11 women and six men spread across 11 sports is the smallest athlete contingent India has ever sent to the Youth Olympics since it began 16 years ago in 2010.
India had, in fact, sent 32 athletes each in the first two editions of the Youth Olympics in 2010 and 2014. The number further rose to 46 athletes four years later during the third edition in 2018 at Buenos Aires.
The 2022 edition, which was supposed to be held in Dakar, was postponed to 2026, and India has sent just 17 athletes.
| Edition | Host city | Total Indian athletes | Medals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Singapore | 32 | 8 |
| 2014 | Nanjing | 32 | 2 |
| 2018 | Buenos Aires | 46 | 13 |
| 2026 | Dakar | 17 | In progress |
So, why has India's athlete count at the 2026 Youth Olympics fallen by a drastic 63% in eight years?
Well, first things first, it isn't because of a lack of talent in the country.
A programme cut by a third
Dakar was first conceived as a 35-sport Games. In June 2024, the IOC Executive Board kept 25 of those sports in the competition programme and moved 10 into an engagement programme.
Each retained sport also showcases just one discipline, which reduced the number of quota places available for athletes while keeping gender parity at its heart.
The engagement tier hurts India more than most countries. Sports like shooting, weightlifting, and hockey, where the country excels, are not part of the program in Dakar.
Those three were central to India’s performance Youth Olympics. In 2018, shooting produced four medals for India, while weightlifting earned one medal and hockey 5s two for a total of seven of India's 13 medals in Buenos Aires.
Manu Bhaker, Saurabh Chaudhary and Jeremy Lalrinnunga had won a gold medal apiece.
Smaller quotas, tighter gates
The athlete quota for Dakar is 2,700 across 153 events. Buenos Aires hosted roughly 4,000 athletes. With fewer places to share among 207 delegations, each country got a slimmer allotment in each sport.
The Games also did not have any direct international qualification tournaments, and each federation set its own criteria. So India’s team size also depends on how many federations ran credible selection processes and how many places the rules allowed them.
Some numbers show how thin the allotments are. India had two athletics quota places and will use only one, because Youth Nationals gold medallist in the 5000m race walk, Vishnu, was reportedly dropped over passport problems.
Shaurya Ambure, who runs the women’s 100m hurdles, goes as the sole athletics entrant. In archery, India holds a single quota, which Gatha Khadake fills.
Besides, the shrinkage in the programme is not a one-off.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Kirsty Coventry, had announced a restructuring of the Olympic movement and a pause on awarding future Youth Olympic editions.
If the format returns, it may look different again, and India’s federations will need to plan for whatever programme emerges.
What to watch?
With a drastic cut in events and athletes sent to the Games, medal expectations should fall.
India’s three previous editions yielded 23 medals, three of them gold, and a good share of those came from events that no longer exist at this level.
Syndrela Das and Tanvi Patri head the list of medal prospects, with swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu, so a podium finish remains realistic in the sports where India has entries.
Indian squad for 2026 Youth Olympics
Gatha Khadake, Shourya Ambure, Tanvi Patri, Dev Ruparelia, Gunjan, Ambekar Meetei Lairenlakpam, Sresht Raju Mantena, Khushbu Darjada, Priyanshi Patil, Dhinidhi Desinghu, Tirthank Pegu, Syndrela Das, Antra, Anuj, Taniya, Deepanshu Khokhar, Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu