Manipur's Ambekar Meetei reaches Youth Olympics boxing final

Update (Nov 11 evening): Into the final, silver at least

Meetei won his semi-final against Colombia's Izzon Jeffrey Galea Arevalo by a unanimous 5-0 decision on Wednesday, PTI reported, so he is now in the gold-medal bout. That means he will leave Dakar with at least a silver, not the bronze he was already guaranteed.

His opponent in the final is Ireland's Kristian Jubani, 17, who beat Mexico's Alan Jesus Ocampo Cano earlier on Wednesday by unanimous decision, according to The Irish Times. Team Ireland says the 50kg final is on Thursday, November 12. Jubani will be a tough test. He is the reigning European U19 silver medallist and won the European U17 title in 2025, the Olympic Federation of Ireland noted. In the quarter-final he stopped Iraq's Almohaimen Takleef in the second round.

How he got to the semi-final

Manipur boxer Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei has made sure India will return from the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, with a boxing medal, after reaching the semi-finals of the men's 50kg event on Tuesday, November 10.

The 17-year-old needed less than two minutes to get past Namibia's Abraham Kalenga in the quarter-final. The referee stopped the contest in the first round, at 1 minute 57 seconds, handing Meetei a win by Referee Stops Contest (RSC), according to PTI reports carried by Sportstar and Rediff.

Reaching the last four guarantees him at least a medal. He now faces Izzon Jeffrey Arevalo of Colombia in the semi-final on Wednesday, November 11, with a place in the gold-medal bout at stake.

Adding to India's tally in Dakar

Before Meetei's quarter-final, India had collected three silver and five bronze medals at the Games, PTI reported. India sent a small squad of 17 athletes to Dakar, so every podium finish counts heavily in the final standings.

The North East has already had reason to cheer in Senegal. Assam's Tirthank Pegu won a bronze in the 200m butterfly earlier in the Games, becoming the first Indian male swimmer to win a Youth Olympics medal.

From Imphal to the national camp

Meetei's route to Dakar runs through Manipur's well-known boxing pipeline. According to a Times of India profile published before the Games, he first stepped into the ring in 2018, encouraged by his uncle, Khadem Sukumar.

He began training at the National Sports Academy in the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex in Imphal and was picked for the national coaching camp in 2025. He later moved into the national set-up at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala.

His international results have climbed steadily:

• Asian U-15 and U-17 Championships, Amman (2025): first notable showing on the continental stage.
• World Boxing Futures Cup, Bangkok (March 2026): a silver medal that secured his Youth Olympics quota.
• Asian U-19 and U-22 Championships, Jakarta (2026): further strong performances in the junior ranks.

His coach, Geeta, told the newspaper that his family had backed him throughout, and that parents now have more confidence that children can build a future through sport.

What happens next

With the semi-final won, Meetei's medal is now at least silver, which adds to India's count in Dakar. Whether it becomes gold comes down to Thursday's bout against Jubani.

Manipur has a long record of producing top boxers, including Olympic medallist M.C. Mary Kom, and a podium finish in Dakar would add Meetei's name to a growing list of young fighters from the state making a mark internationally. NEInsider will update this story after the final.