Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu's Youth Olympics Wushu Bronze, Explained
Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu, from Manipur, won bronze in the women's Changquan combined wushu final at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. Her combined score was 18.039 (Gunshu 8.723, Changquan 9.316). Egypt's Sondos Sonbol took gold with 18.660 and Venezuela's Valeria Frannerys Dudamel Alvarado took silver with 18.199. Sportstar, India Today and Hindustan Times call it India's first Youth Olympics wushu medal, in a sport making its medal debut at the Games, and India's third medal in Dakar.
Indian wushu has a Youth Olympic medal. On Tuesday, 3 November 2026, at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal, Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu won bronze in the women's Changquan combined.
Hindustan Times said she hails from Manipur and was the only Indian in wushu. This article does not add a town or village. The reports read here do not give one.
Her combined score was 18.039. Sportstar, India Today and Hindustan Times all split it the same way: 8.723 in Gunshu and 9.316 in Changquan. 8.723 plus 9.316 is 18.039.
Egypt's Sondos Sonbol won gold with 18.660. Venezuela's Valeria Frannerys Dudamel Alvarado won silver with 18.199.
The 60-second version
- Medal: Bronze, women's Changquan combined wushu, Dakar 2026, Tuesday 3 November.
- Score: 18.039 combined. Gunshu 8.723. Changquan 9.316.
- Podium: Sondos Sonbol (Egypt) 18.660, gold. Valeria Frannerys Dudamel Alvarado (Venezuela) 18.199, silver.
- The first: India's first Youth Olympics wushu medal. Wushu's debut as a medal sport at the Youth Olympic Games, Sportstar and Hindustan Times reported.
- India in Dakar: The third medal. Monday brought Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada's silver in women's judo 63kg and Dhinidhi Desinghu's bronze in the women's 100m freestyle.
- Prelims: Second on 17.982, behind Sonbol's 18.386, Sportstar reported. India Today split that total as Gunshu 8.876 and Changquan 9.106.
- Where she is from: Manipur, according to Hindustan Times. She was the only Indian entered in wushu.
The final, and the two routines that make it
Changquan combined is a taolu event, a routine discipline. Hindustan Times described it as a bare-handed routine plus a weapon routine, with the two scores added for one total. The competition ran over three days. The top eight reached the final. Chanu was second of 12 in the preliminary round, on 17.982.
| Place | Athlete | Combined |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | Sondos Sonbol (Egypt) | 18.660 |
| Silver | Valeria Frannerys Dudamel Alvarado (Venezuela) | 18.199 |
| Bronze | Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu (India) | 18.039 |
| Fourth | Gvantsa Karchava (Georgia) | 17.700 |
India Today is the source for Karchava's 17.700. The same order, with the same three medal scores, is on a Dakar 2026 wushu results sheet published by the French Olympic team.
Inside the final, the two routines did not rank her the same way. India Today said she was fourth in Gunshu, the weapon routine, on 8.723, then second of the eight finalists in Changquan, the bare-handed routine, on 9.316. The French team's Gunshu final list puts Sonbol first on 9.330, Dudamel Alvarado second on 9.246, Karchava third on 8.770 and Chanu fourth on 8.723. That is the segment order this article uses.
One wire note does not match that Gunshu place. A PTI copy said she was third in Gunshu on 8.723 and second in Changquan on 9.316. The score lines match. The Gunshu place does not: both India Today and the results sheet have Georgia ahead of her in that segment. The combined bronze does not depend on the Gunshu place. 18.039 is third overall.
Sportstar said she entered the final second in the preliminary round on 17.982, behind Sonbol's 18.386. India Today gave the preliminary split: 8.876 in Gunshu and 9.106 in Changquan. Those two add to 17.982.
A News on Air copy checked the same night printed a total of 18.39. That is not the figure in Sportstar, India Today, Hindustan Times or the results sheet, and it is not what 8.723 and 9.316 add up to. The score in this piece is 18.039.
What she said after qualifying
The line about gold is from Monday, after the preliminary Changquan, not from the podium.
The Olympic Information Service, on Olympics.com, filed comments from her after the women's Changquan combined preliminary Changquan at the Dakar Expo Centre. The file is datelined Diamniadio. On the performance, it quoted her: "I felt really good coming in today, but I missed a movement and slipped, so I don't feel as good now, but I'm still really excited because I scored well."
On the outfit: "I chose my outfit with my coach. There is a dragon on it, and it's very meaningful to me because dragons are sacred in Manipuri culture." That is her comment, as the Olympic Information Service recorded it. It is not a hometown this article is adding beyond Manipur, which is what Hindustan Times reported.
On Dakar, the same file quoted her: "I will take a medal, and go back home. Actually, not just any medal, I will take gold."
India Today carried that ambition line and said she was speaking after qualifying. It also said the bronze was short of the gold she had named, and that the result was still a landmark for Indian wushu.
Why the result is a first, and what the federation said
Sportstar called the bronze a major mark for the country's wushu community because the sport made its debut as an official medal sport at these Games. Hindustan Times put the same fact in plainer words: this is the first time wushu is part of the Youth Olympics programme as a medal sport. India Today said the debut was what gave India its first chance to compete for a wushu medal at the Youth Olympics.
All three call Chanu's bronze India's first wushu medal at the competition. India Today said she is the first Indian wushu athlete to medal there.
Hindustan Times published a statement from the Wushu Association of India: "Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu has created history for Indian wushu by winning first-ever medal in the sport at the Youth Olympics. It was possible because of her hard work and determination and the hard work of coached and support staff." The second sentence is as that paper printed it, including the word "coached".
India's third medal in Dakar
The wushu bronze is being counted as India's third medal at Dakar 2026.
Sportstar listed the two that came first, both on Monday: Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada's silver in the women's 63kg judo, and Dhinidhi Desinghu's bronze in the women's 100m freestyle. India Today and Hindustan Times use the same pair and the same order. India Today summed the tally, after Chanu, as one silver and two bronze.
Desinghu's race, the national record of 56.27, and the rest of her Dakar programme are in BharatBeat's swimming explainer. That piece, from the previews, also named Chanu among the medal hopes in India's 17-athlete squad. Hindustan Times now adds that she was the only Indian in the wushu events.
What to watch next
- The printed score. Use 18.039, not a rounded 18.39. The segment scores that add to it are Gunshu 8.723 and Changquan 9.316.
- The rest of India's Dakar squad through 13 November, including Desinghu's remaining swims. Chanu's own wushu entry was a single combined event, and Hindustan Times said she was the only Indian in the sport.
- How the federation's line travels. The Wushu Association of India statement Hindustan Times carried calls the bronze the first medal for Indian wushu at the Youth Olympics. Later official notes are what would add coaches' names or a home town. Neither is in the reports used here.
She told the Olympic Information Service she wanted gold. On Tuesday she left with bronze, in a sport that had not been a Youth Olympic medal event before Dakar, and with India's third medal of these Games.
Based on reports published on 3 November 2026 by Sportstar, India Today and Hindustan Times, the Olympic Information Service comments file for Rajkumari on Olympics.com, the Dakar 2026 wushu results sheet published by the French Olympic team, and a PTI copy of the result. The combined score used here is 18.039. A News on Air copy that printed 18.39 is noted and not followed. Hindustan Times is the source for Manipur and for the Wushu Association of India statement, quoted as that paper printed it. No hometown beyond Manipur is added.
Frequently asked questions
›What medal did Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu win at the Youth Olympics?
She won bronze in the women's Changquan combined wushu event at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. Sportstar, India Today and Hindustan Times all put her combined score at 18.039, from 8.723 in Gunshu and 9.316 in Changquan. Hindustan Times said she is from Manipur and was the only Indian in wushu.
›Who won gold and silver in the women's Changquan combined?
Egypt's Sondos Sonbol won gold with 18.660. Venezuela's Valeria Frannerys Dudamel Alvarado won silver with 18.199. India Today put Georgia's Gvantsa Karchava fourth on 17.700. A Dakar 2026 wushu results sheet published by the French Olympic team lists the same combined order and the same three scores.
›Is this India's first wushu medal at the Youth Olympics?
Yes, according to Sportstar, India Today and Hindustan Times. They call it India's first wushu medal at the Youth Olympic Games. Hindustan Times and Sportstar also say this is the first time wushu is on the Youth Olympics programme as a medal sport. The Wushu Association of India, in a statement Hindustan Times published, said she had created history for Indian wushu by winning the first medal in the sport at the Youth Olympics.
›How does the bronze sit with India's other Dakar medals?
Sportstar, India Today and Hindustan Times call it India's third medal at Dakar 2026. On Monday, Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada won silver in the women's judo 63kg, and Dhinidhi Desinghu won bronze in the women's 100m freestyle. Desinghu's swim is covered in a separate BharatBeat explainer.
›What did she say about wanting gold?
After the preliminary Changquan on Monday, the Olympic Information Service on Olympics.com quoted her: "I will take a medal, and go back home. Actually, not just any medal, I will take gold." India Today carried the same line and said she was speaking after qualifying. The bronze is a podium, short of the gold she named.
›Why do some copies print 18.39 instead of 18.039?
The figure in Sportstar, India Today, Hindustan Times and the results sheet is 18.039. Gunshu 8.723 plus Changquan 9.316 is 18.039. A News on Air copy checked on the night of 3 November printed 18.39. This article uses 18.039.