Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: Tirthank Pegu just made history. The 17-year-old from Ramakrishna, Jorhat, became the first Indian male swimmer to medal at the Youth Olympic Games. He grabbed bronze in the 200m butterfly in Dakar, Senegal, clocking in at 2:01.25. Pegu reached the final after leading his heat with a 2:05.30 finish.
Egypt’s Zain Ali took gold at 1:57.88, while Vietnam’s Duong Van Hoang Quy secured silver in 2:00.32. Pegu trains at the Inspire Institute of Sport in Ballari, Karnataka. He previously earned silver in the same event at the 2025 Asian Youth Games in Bahrain and holds a junior national record.
Reflecting on the achievement, Pegu noted the grind behind the result. "Yeah, it's like it was my dream to win a medal in the Youth Olympics. My coach and I both worked for this particular competition the whole year. So I'm really feeling good right now, but I'm a little disappointed as well. But it's okay; at least I'm the first male swimmer right now," he said.
The win adds to India’s medal haul alongside Dhinidhi Desinghu, who took bronze in the women's 100m and 200m freestyle events. Pegu credited trailblazers like Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj for building the path for current athletes. He specifically noted Nataraj’s 2018 Youth Olympic final appearance as a key motivator. For Assam, this adds another major milestone, following boxer Shiva Thapa’s silver medal at the 2010 Singapore Games.
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