Khushbu Rajakbai Darjada from district Somnath in Gujarat region fought hard but lost to Jolina Reinhold of Germany in the final of women’s -63kg at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal, Jolina Reinhold of Germany,
Khushbu Rajakbai Darjada started judo for fun in 2021. She attended district training centre in Somnath, Gujarat as her elder sister was also a judo player. Nearly five years later she clinched silver at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal. In the final of women’s -63kg, she fought hard but lost to Jolina Reinhold of Germany. In the summit clash held late Monday evening (November 2) in Dakar, the Indian judo player said she was mentally and physically prepared to face experienced Jolina Reinhold of Germany in the final. “I did some homework to tackle my rival in the gold medal match, but settled for silver,” she told Sportsbackstory.com over the phone from Dakar.
It was Khusbhu’s second medal at the international level this year. Earlier this year she won bronze (-63kg) at the Asian Cadet Championships held in Amman, Jordan.
Khushbu is the second Indian judo player to have won a medal at the Youth Olympic Games. Manipur’s Tababi Devi was first Indian judo player to win a medal, a silver at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
On her way to the final, the Indian player outplayed Mamaissata Camara of Guinea in the first round. She got the better of Abir Bouazzaoui of Morocco in the quarterfinal. Khusbhu beat Dounia Berrahoual of Algeria in the semifinal to advance to the gold medal round. “It was a great experience for me to compete at the global level in Dakar,” claims Khushbu.
Youngest of the seven siblings, Khushbu began her sporting career at district level Somnath’s judo academy in 2021. “It was good to win district level competitions. It motivated me to continue to pursue judo,” she recalls her formative days of training. Two years later was selected for Vijayi Bharat Foundation (VBF), a high-performance centre in Ahmedabad. Under the tutelage of judo coach Lal Krishan Baghel at the VBF she further improved her skills. “Better training and good sparring partners at the VBF enabled Khusbhu to win a medal in Dakar,” said Baghel.
Khushbu has no plans to take a break and celebrate her silver medal performance with her parents in Somnath. Instead, she is gearing up for her next competition. “I doubt I will get a leave to meet my parents as I have to compete in the Khelo India competition,” she added.
EOM
