Silver For Jubani as Team Ireland Close out Youth Olympic Games in Dakar

Kristian Jubani has won a superb silver medal for Team Ireland at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, following an incredibly tight Men’s 50kg final against India’s Ambekar Meetei Lairenlakpam. The Indian boxer took the gold following a 3-2 decision.

The 17-year-old Crumlin Boxing Club fighter delivered another excellent performance on the biggest stage, taking the opening round on all five judges’ scorecards before the tense contest swung narrowly in the Indian boxer’s favour. Lairenlakpam took the second round on a 3-2 split and the third 4-1 to edge the overall decision 3-2.

It was the tightest of margins for Jubani, who had dreamed of standing on top of the podium in Dakar and was understandably disappointed immediately afterwards.

“He’s a very good opponent. He keeps on coming. So yeah, I tried to deal with that, and I did it to the best of my abilities. But you’ll see changes. I’ll be stronger.

“It was a very good fight. I won the first round. The second round was a 3-2, and the last round was a 4-1. I thought I won the first round handily. The second round was close, but yeah, I thought I did enough to get it. But that’s boxing, isn’t it? So we bounce back. It won’t stop me.”

The ambitious young boxer arrived in Dakar with gold as his clear target, but he was also determined to use the experience as another step in his development.

“It’s all about bouncing back. It’s not what I came for. I didn’t come for a silver, but that’s what I’m walking away with, and I definitely will bounce back. This isn’t the end for me.”

The silver caps an impressive Youth Olympic campaign for Jubani. After receiving a bye into the quarter-finals, he stopped Iraq’s Almohaimen Takleef in the second round to secure a medal, then delivered a convincing 5-0 semi-final win over Mexico’s Alan Jesus Ocampo Cano to earn his place in today’s gold-medal bout.

The achievement adds another chapter to Jubani’s young career. The Crumlin boxer arrived at the Games already a European U19 silver medallist and 2025 European U17 champion, having identified Dakar as one of the major targets of a busy international year.

It also meant a great deal to represent both his country and his club on the Youth Olympic stage.

“It was good seeing the Irish flag raised, definitely. I represented Crumlin, represented my family, my mum, my dad. It’s phenomenal seeing the Ireland flag on such a big stage.”

Jubani leaves Dakar as Ireland’s eighth medallist in Summer Youth Olympic Games history, with boxing continuing to make an outsized contribution to that record. Five of Ireland’s Youth Olympic medals have now come in boxing.

Team Ireland Chef de Mission Nancy Chillingworth praised both Jubani’s performance and the way he carried himself throughout the Games,

“We are incredibly proud of Kristian. Of course he will be disappointed because he came here with the ambition of winning gold, but he can be immensely proud of that performance and of his entire Youth Olympic Games. He boxed extremely well against a very good opponent today, and the margins at this level are so small.

“More than that, Kristian has represented himself, his family, his club and his country brilliantly throughout these Games. I know everyone in Crumlin will be enormously proud of him.

“It has been a privilege to work with this team. Kate and Hannah produced some super performances in their competitions and embraced everything that a Youth Olympic Games should be about. Kristian’s silver medal is a fantastic way to finish what has been a brilliant Games for this small but very special Team Ireland.”

Jubani’s medal provides a fitting conclusion to a Youth Olympic campaign in which Ireland was represented by just three athletes across three sports: Kate Dunne in Coastal Rowing Beach Sprints, Hannah Shochan in badminton and Jubani in boxing.

Kristian Jubani flies home with the team after his medal ceremony tomorrow, landing in T2 at 12:45 on the flight via Madrid.

Results Day 13 – Thursday 12 November

Boxing, Men’s 50k Final, Kristian Jubani (Ireland) Silver Medal, Ambekar Meetei Lairenlakpam (India) Gold. 3:2 split decision.  

Team Ireland Overall Results

BOXING – MEN’S 50KG

Kristian Jubani – SILVER

• Preliminary round: Bye.
• Quarter-final: beat Almohaimen Takleef (IRQ), RSC Round 2 
• Semi-final: beat Alan Jesus Ocampo Cano (MEX), 5-0 
• Final: lost to Ambekar Meetei Lairenlakpam (IND), 3-2, winning Youth Olympic silver.

COASTAL ROWING BEACH SPRINTS – WOMEN’S SOLO

Kate Dunne

• Time Trial 1: 16th, 3:13.98 
• Time Trial 2: 8th, 3:02.60, qualifying for the Last 16 
• Last 16: Kate Dunne (IRL), 2:56.57, lost to Tanya Brendle (SUI), 2:49.51 

BADMINTON – WOMEN’S SINGLES

Hannah Shochan

• Group Stage: Hannah Shochan (IRL) V Elena Popivanova (BUL), 14-21, 15-21.
• Group Stage: Hannah Shochan (IRL) V Amy Wang (NZL), 22-24, 16-21. 
• Group Stage: Hannah Shochan (IRL) V Romili Vakk (EST), 9-21, 11-21.