Lanchenbi Chanu: aimed for gold, will chase it after wushu bronze

Manipur's Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu, who won India's first-ever wushu medal at the Youth Olympic Games, says she went to Dakar expecting gold or silver and will aim for the top step next time.

Lanchenbi won bronze in the women's Changquan combined event at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal on Tuesday, November 3. Speaking to India Today NE in remarks published on Sunday, she said she was thrilled with the medal but felt a few errors in her routine kept her from finishing higher.

The result

According to Sportstar, Lanchenbi scored a combined 18.039 points in the final, with 8.723 in Gunshu (staff) and 9.316 in Changquan (long fist). She had reached the final in second place after the preliminary round with 17.982 points, behind Egypt's Sondos Sonbol, who led qualifying with 18.386.

Wushu made its debut as a medal sport at the Dakar Games, which made Lanchenbi's podium finish a first for India in the discipline. Her medal was India's third of the Games at that point, after Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada's silver in women's 63kg judo and Dhinidhi Desinghu's bronze in the women's 100m freestyle.

In her words

"I thought I would win the gold or silver. I made some mistakes, which is why I got the bronze medal," she told India Today NE. She dedicated the medal to her coaches and her family, saying they had kept her motivated and supported her throughout.

Lanchenbi said she started out in gymnastics in 2017 and switched to wushu in 2021. Wushu is a Chinese martial art that blends combat techniques with athletic routines judged on precision, power and difficulty. She said her goal now is to improve and bring home a gold medal at her next international competition.

Manipur has a long record in combat and strength sports, and its athletes have been among India's strongest in wushu at national level. Lanchenbi's bronze adds to a strong Youth Olympics for the North East, alongside Assam swimmer Tirthank Pegu's bronze in the 200m butterfly.