Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei is the 17-year-old Indian boxer who guaranteed India a medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, storming into the men’s 50kg semifinals with a first-round stoppage win over Namibia’s Abraham Kalenga on 10 November 2026. The referee stopped the quarterfinal after just 1 minute 57 seconds, and the win made Meetei India’s first boxing medallist of the Games — with at least a bronze already secured and a shot at gold still to come.
The teenager from Manipur has risen fast. He took up boxing only in 2018, won silver at the World Boxing Futures Cup in Bangkok in March 2026 to earn his place in Dakar, and is one of only 17 Indian athletes competing at the Games. This biography covers his age, birthplace, coaches, career so far, his Dakar 2026 campaign, and his net worth.
| Full Name | Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei |
| Age | 17 years old (as reported by The Times of India, 8 November 2026; date of birth not publicly reported) |
| Birthplace | Manipur, India |
| Occupation | Boxer (men’s 50kg) |
| Known For | Assured Youth Olympics medal, Dakar 2026; silver at the World Boxing Futures Cup 2026 |
| Coaches | Vijay Kumar Sharma and Geeta Chanu Oinam |
| Net Worth 2026 | Not applicable — amateur youth athlete; no public figure (see Net Worth section below) |
Early Life
Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei comes from Manipur, a state with one of India’s richest boxing traditions — the home of Olympic medallist Mary Kom and a production line of national champions. He stepped into a boxing ring for the first time in 2018, and as The Times of India reported, there has been no looking back since.
Meetei began his training at the National Sports Academy at the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex in Imphal, the Manipur capital’s main sporting hub. His progress there earned him selection for the national coaching camp in 2025, and he subsequently joined the national set-up at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala, the base for India’s elite boxers. His coaches, Vijay Kumar Sharma and Geeta Chanu Oinam, have backed him to make a deep run at the Youth Olympics and finish on the podium — a prediction his performances in Dakar have already justified.
Career
Meetei first made an impression on the international stage at the Asian U-15 & U-17 Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan, in 2025, where he competed in the 48kg category. The breakthrough that changed his career came in March 2026, when he won silver in the under-19 men’s 50kg category at the World Boxing Futures Cup in Bangkok, Thailand. That silver medal secured his qualification for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games — one of only two boxing quotas India earned, the other going to Haryana’s Gunjan in the women’s 48kg category. Both boxers had to take part in the U19 World Boxing Future Cup in early 2026 to be eligible for selection.
Later in 2026 he underlined his potential again at the Asian U-19 & U-22 Championships in Jakarta, where The Times of India reported he impressed on the international stage. On the domestic front, he reached the final of the men’s 50kg category at the eighth Youth National Boxing Championships in Guwahati, Assam, after winning his semifinal bout. Like fellow Dakar 2026 medallists Shourya Ambure and Tanvi Patri, Meetei arrived in Senegal as one of the faces of India’s next generation of junior sport — and one of only 17 Indian athletes at the Games.
Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics
The men’s 50kg boxing event at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games is being held from 8 to 12 November 2026 at the Dakar Expo Center, with 116 boxers from 77 National Olympic Committees competing across five men’s weight categories. Meetei opened his campaign on 8 November against a home favourite, Senegal’s Mame Cheikh Ibrahima Fall Faye, and won 5-0 on points in the Round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals.
The quarterfinal, on Tuesday 10 November, was over almost before it began. Facing Namibia’s Abraham Kalenga, Meetei delivered what the IANS report called an emphatic performance, and the referee stopped the contest in the opening round at 1 minute 57 seconds — an RSC win that booked his place in the last four and guaranteed India at least a bronze medal, since both losing semifinalists in Olympic boxing receive bronze. It was India’s first boxing medal of the Games, and it came on the same day Gunjan assured herself a podium finish in the women’s 48kg category with a 5-0 quarterfinal win over Mexico’s Atena Sofia Juarez Calero.
Meetei’s semifinal is scheduled for Wednesday 11 November against Colombia’s Izzon Jeffrey Arevalo, with the final set for Thursday 12 November. At the time of writing, that semifinal has not yet been played, so no result beyond the guaranteed bronze is claimed here. Whatever happens next, the 17-year-old has already added to a proud record: India had won one silver and one bronze medal in boxing across the first three editions of the Youth Olympics, and Meetei’s run has taken the country’s Dakar 2026 tally — three silver and five bronze before his quarterfinal — a step further.
Personal Life
Meetei trains at the National Sports Academy in Imphal and at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, balancing his boxing with his studies as a student at the National Sports Academy. Almost everything publicly known about him comes from his performances in the ring and the reports around them, and as a 17-year-old athlete he keeps his private life out of the public eye.
What is known is the support system behind him: two coaches who believed in him before Dakar, a state in Manipur that has produced some of India’s greatest boxers, and a national set-up that fast-tracked him from the Imphal academy to the NIS in Patiala within a year. Fellow Manipuri sporting star Mirabai Chanu has shown what that pathway can lead to at the very top of world sport.
Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei Net Worth 2026
Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei’s net worth in 2026 is not publicly reported, and no reliable figure exists. He is a 17-year-old amateur youth boxer competing in junior boxing, and there are no public records of prize money, endorsements or sponsorship income attached to his name. Any net worth figure circulating online for him would be invented, so none is stated here.
His value at this stage of his career is sporting rather than financial: a Youth Olympic medal guaranteed before his 18th birthday, a World Boxing Futures Cup silver, and a place among the small group of Indian teenagers trusted to carry the country’s hopes at Dakar 2026. If senior success follows, commercial interest will follow — but as of November 2026, his earnings are not a matter of public record.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei?
Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei is 17 years old, as reported by The Times of India in November 2026. His exact date of birth has not been publicly reported.
Where is Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei from?
Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei is from Manipur, India. He trains at the National Sports Academy at the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex in Imphal and at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala.
How tall is Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei?
Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei’s height has not been publicly reported by any reliable source, so no figure is stated in this biography. He competes in the men’s 50kg weight class.
Who are Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei’s coaches?
His coaches are Vijay Kumar Sharma and Geeta Chanu Oinam, who have guided him through the national coaching camp and into the national set-up at NIS Patiala.
What medal did Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei win at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics?
He has guaranteed at least a bronze medal in the men’s 50kg boxing at Dakar 2026, after beating Namibia’s Abraham Kalenga by Referee Stops Contest in the quarterfinal on 10 November 2026. His semifinal against Colombia’s Izzon Jeffrey Arevalo is scheduled for 11 November 2026, so the final colour of his medal was not yet decided at the time of writing.
What is Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei’s net worth in 2026?
There is no publicly reported net worth figure for Lairenlakpam Ambekar Meetei. He is a 17-year-old amateur youth athlete, and no prize money, endorsement or sponsorship income has been publicly disclosed for him.
