Wushu Glory! Rajkumari brings bronze home for India

Manipur’s Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu has etched her name in Indian sporting history by becoming the first Indian to win a medal in wushu at the Youth Olympic Games. She clinched bronze in the women’s changquan combined event at Dakar 2026 on Tuesday.

The young athlete secured third place with a combined score of 18.039 points, comprising 8.723 in gunshu and 9.316 in changquan. Egypt’s Sondos Sonbol claimed gold with 18.660 points, while Venezuela’s Valeria Frannerys Dudamel Alvarado took silver with 18.199.

Rajkumari initially finished fourth after the gunshu routine but bounced back with a strong performance in changquan to secure the bronze-medal position. She had qualified for the final after finishing second in the preliminary round with 17.982 points, scoring 8.876 in gunshu and 9.106 in changquan.

Speaking about her performance, Rajkumari admitted that she was nervous while competing against tough opponents. “I felt a little bit scared,” she told Olympics.com, acknowledging the challenging nature of the competition.

Wushu is making its debut as a medal sport at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. The sport has two major disciplines: taolu, which involves judged performance routines, and sanda, a full-contact combat discipline featuring punches, kicks and throws.
In the women’s changquan combined event, athletes perform two routines — changquan and gunshu — with their scores combined to determine the final standings. Changquan is a fast-paced, bare-handed martial arts style, while gunshu involves the use of a staff and requires a combination of sweeping, striking and rotating movements.

Rajkumari had already made her mark on the international stage before her Youth Olympic achievement, winning bronze in the girls’ youth changquan event at the 2026 World Junior Wushu Championships in Tianjin, China.
Her historic medal marked India’s third medal at Dakar 2026, taking the country’s tally to one silver and two bronze medals. Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada had earlier won silver in the women’s judo 63kg category, while Dhinidhi Desinghu secured bronze in the women’s 100m freestyle, becoming India’s first swimmer to win a Youth Olympic medal.