Dakar, 03rd November 2026: Hailing from the Gir Somnath region of Gujarat, Khushbu Darjada, a judoka from Gujarat’s Siddi community, won the silver medal in the women’s −63 kg category at the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games. Her podium finish marks a significant milestone in her career and brings recognition to Gujarat’s sporting talent.
Identified through VBF’s athlete scouting programme, Khushbu put together an impressive campaign to reach the final. She began with a victory over Camara of Guinea in the Round of 16 by yuko, followed by a commanding ippon win against Morocco’s Abir Bouazzaoui, ranked World No. 11, in the quarter-final. She continued her run with another ippon victory over Algeria’s Berrahoual in the semi-final to book her place in the gold medal bout.
In the final, Khushbu faced Germany’s Jolina Reinhold, ranked World No. 2, and went down by ippon to finish with the silver medal. Her achievement marked India’s second medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
Khushbu’s journey to the international podium has been built over years of consistent training and dedication. She has been training at the Vijayi Bharat Foundation (VBF) facility for over three years now, where she has continued to develop as a judoka and prepare for competition at the highest level.
Judo is also a family pursuit for Khushbu. Her elder sister Shahin Darjada is a high-performing judoka who also trains at VBF and has won both the National Championship and the Asian Junior Judo Championship gold medal. The achievements of the two sisters reflect a remarkable sporting journey emerging from their family and the Siddi community in Gujarat.
Khushbu’s development has also received support from the Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG) and the Khelo India programme of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), which have contributed to her journey towards the international stage.
Reflecting on her performance, Khushbu Darjada said, “Winning a silver medal for India at the Youth Olympic Games is a very special feeling. I gave my best in every bout and was happy with the way I fought my way into the final. Of course, I would have loved to win gold, but this experience has taught me a lot and given me more motivation to work harder. I have been training at VBF for over last three years, and my coaches, family and everyone who has supported me have been a big part of this journey. I am grateful for this opportunity and hope to achieve much more for India.”
Khushbu’s silver medal at Dakar 2026 is a proud moment for her family, the Siddi community of Gir Somnath and Gujarat. It also underlines the importance of identifying young sporting talent and providing athletes with sustained opportunities to develop and compete at the international level.
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