China's Lin Yilei made history by winning the first wushu gold medal in Olympic history at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. He claimed the top spot in the men's Changquan combined event, which was held at the Dakar Exhibition Center. This marked the debut of wushu at an Olympic event, with four gold medals awarded in wushu taolu.
Lin's coach, Zheng Jutian, expressed pride in their team's participation, saying it carried significance beyond the result. Zheng emphasized that representing all wushu practitioners in China on the Youth Olympic stage fulfilled a dream made possible by generations of people promoting the sport. Other winners in wushu included Egypt's Sondos Sonbol, who took the women's Changquan combined title.
China's Liu Lili won the women's solo title in coastal rowing beach sprints, securing her second gold medal of the Games. Liu's initial focus was on the mixed event, but she did not expect to win the individual title. Her teammate, Su Juntao, narrowly missed out on a place in the men's solo semifinals, losing to Egypt's Yossuf Moursi by 3.43 seconds.
In swimming, China continued its winning streak with Xie Yichen taking the men's 100m breaststroke title in 1:01.03. Xie felt a sense of pride and accomplishment, saying it felt as if he was the only one in the pool, focusing on pushing forward. Other swimming winners included Rami Bilal Al-Rahmouni, who secured Saudi Arabia's first Youth Olympic swimming gold in the men's 400m freestyle.
The badminton group stage concluded, with China's Zhang Yixin and Hong Tianyue advancing to the women's and men's singles quarterfinals, respectively. In table tennis, China's Yao Ruixuan lost to Chinese Taipei's Chen Minhsin in the women's singles round of 16, while Li Hechen advanced to the men's singles quarterfinals with a 4-0 victory over Argentina's Agustin Asmu.
Japan's Ryuusei Kawakami and Miku Matsushima won the mixed doubles final in table tennis, defeating Hong Kong, China's Li Ki Ho and Su Tsz Tung 3-1. In beach volleyball, China's Zhuang Ming and Qi Siyu secured a spot in the bronze-medal match, where they will face a Swiss duo. The final two judo titles were awarded, with Brazil's Clarisse Vallim and Lithuania's Tajus Babaicenko taking the women's 78kg and men's 100kg crowns, respectively.
China's rugby sevens team finished fifth, winning three consecutive matches, including a victory over host Senegal. Kenya defeated Australia 17-12 to win the title. Cuba claimed the Baseball5 title, defeating Chinese Taipei 2-0. On Wednesday, six gold medals will be awarded in swimming, two in beach volleyball, and one in skateboarding.
Key points
- China's Lin Yilei wins first wushu gold in Olympic history at Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
- China's Liu Lili wins women's solo title in coastal rowing beach sprints.
- Japan's Ryuusei Kawakami and Miku Matsushima win mixed doubles final in table tennis.
