Khushbu Darjada wins judo silver at Youth Olympics, scripts history for India

India's Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada claimed a silver medal in the women's 63kg judo event at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal, becoming only the second Indian judoka to win a medal at the prestigious competition.

The 15-year-old from Somnath in Gujarat finished runner-up after losing to Germany's Jolina Reinhold, the reigning Cadet world champion, by ippon in the gold medal contest on Monday.

Khushbu's achievement came eight years after Manipur's Thangjam Tababi Devi became India's first Youth Olympic judo medallist, winning silver in the women's 44kg category at Buenos Aires in 2018.

𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹

Khushbu began her campaign with a victory over Guinea's Mamaissata Camara in the round of 16, winning by yuko.

She followed it with an impressive ippon victory against Morocco's Abir Bouazzaoui in the quarterfinals before defeating Algeria's Dounia Berrahoual in the semifinals to secure a place in the gold medal contest.

However, Germany's Reinhold proved too strong in the final, winning by ippon in just 48 seconds.

Reflecting on her performance, Khushbu said she had prepared herself mentally and physically to face the experienced German judoka.

"It was a great experience for me to compete at the global level in Dakar," she said.

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺

The youngest of seven siblings, Khushbu began practising judo at a district-level academy in Somnath in 2021.

Her early success in local competitions encouraged her to pursue the sport more seriously.

"It was good to win district-level competitions. It motivated me to continue to pursue judo," she recalled.

In 2023, she was selected for the Vijayi Bharat Foundation (VBF), a high-performance training centre in Ahmedabad, where she began training under coach Lal Krishan Baghel.

Baghel credited improved training facilities and stronger sparring partners for Khushbu's progress.

"Better training and good sparring partners at the VBF enabled Khushbu to win a medal in Dakar," he said.

𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

The Youth Olympic silver was Khushbu's second international medal this year, following her bronze in the women's 63kg category at the Asian Cadet Championships in Amman, Jordan.

Despite her achievement, the teenager is unlikely to take an immediate break to celebrate with her family in Somnath.

"I doubt I will get leave to meet my parents as I have to compete in the Khelo India competition," she said.

Khushbu's silver also contributed to India's medal tally at the Dakar Games, where swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu secured a historic bronze in the women's 100m freestyle, becoming the country's first swimming medallist at the Youth Olympics.