The favourite in the recurve under-18 women’s category was pushed hard but not denied, as Dunya Yenihayat won a thriller to become champion at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
The Puebla 2026 Hyundai Archery World Cup silver medallist had conceded just one set point on her way to facing USA’sWhang Ye-eun at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium. That came against eventual bronze medallist Sandra Perez Cumbreras of Spain in the semifinals, and the match also featured her only arrow outside the gold – the two central rings of the target, worth nine and 10 points – after four matches.
The Turkish archer would drop only her second non-gold arrow in the gold medal match – with her very first shot – but, as the competition and stakes rose, Whang’s equally impressive performance pushed Yenihayat to a shoot-off. The pair tied the second set 30-30, with Whang winning the third 29-28 and the fifth 29-27.
At 5-5, the match went to a shoot-off. After a long hold, with just three seconds left on the countdown, Yenihayat hit the X-ring, the central zone within the 10-ring used to break ties in qualification. Her arrow landed less than three centimetres from the centre of the target, while Whang’s was less than a centimetre away, just outside the X-ring. It was enough to make Yenihayat Türkiye’s first individual Youth Olympic archery champion.
“First of all, I feel very excited and happy and proud… all the feelings right now,” she said after the medal ceremony. “We shot a very good gold medal match; she’s a very strong archer.”
“I didn’t hear the other people, just ‘stay behind the line’ [from the judge]. I only heard my coach. He said to have fun, it’s good, you’re a very strong archer and we are a team.”
“Everything will be good and that’s it.”
Yenihayat, 17, was one of the favourites coming into the week, having already competed in a raft of senior events for Türkiye’s national team. She had been selected for the last three consecutive World Cup squads and already had a bronze medal in the Shanghai 2025 mixed team event as well as a silver medal on archery’s premier international circuit.
