Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics: Lucas Lee wins opener as Malaysia's young athletes make positive start

Malaysia's young athletes have had a positive start at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal. Badminton player Lucas Lee won his opening group match comfortably, the women's beach volleyball pair topped their pool to reach the round of 16, and wushu exponent Lim Kai Shen was second after the first half of his event despite a fever. Several results were still pending as of Tuesday, 3 November.

A 12-athlete squad chasing one medal

The Games run from 31 October to 13 November and are the first Olympic Games held in Africa. Malaysia sent 12 athletes, six men and six women, to compete in 16 events across nine sports: athletics, swimming, badminton, beach volleyball, breaking, fencing, sailing, skateboarding and wushu. The 26-member delegation is led by chef de mission Wong Weng Son, a former wushu world champion, in his first time in the role.

The official target is at least one medal, with badminton and wushu seen as the best chances. Malaysia won two golds at the last Summer Youth Olympics, in Buenos Aires in 2018: Goh Jin Wei in women's badminton singles and the men's hockey 5s team.

Lucas Lee makes a fast start

Lucas Lee Khye Luen, 17, is Malaysia's only badminton player in Dakar. He trains at Akademi Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara. He opened his Group F campaign at Dakar Arena by beating Greece's Ioannis Sarougiannidis 21-7, 21-6.

Only the group winner goes through to the knockout rounds, so his remaining group matches are crucial. Group F also includes third seed Riyan Malhan of the UAE and Sweden's Felus Ding. The group stage runs until 3 November, and the quarter-finals are on Wednesday, 4 November. Lee told The Star: "My target is to win a medal for Malaysia."

Cheam June Wei (2014) and Goh Jin Wei (2018) are Malaysia's only Youth Olympic badminton gold medallists so far.

Wushu, beach volleyball and swimming

In wushu, Lim Kai Shen scored 9.323 in the taijiquan routine of the men's combined event. That placed him second, just behind a Hong Kong athlete on 9.330. The final ranking adds a second routine, and wushu at the Games runs from 1 to 3 November. Lim was competing with a fever, and National Sports Institute (ISN) staff said they would monitor him before his next routine. His medal result had not been confirmed when this article was published.

In beach volleyball, Cadence Goh and Ong Jing Yi lost their Pool F opener to the Dominican Republic on 31 October, 18-21, 22-20, 16-18. They then beat Cape Verde 21-4, 21-9 and hosts Senegal 21-15, 21-14 to finish top of the pool. Their round-of-16 opponents were China's top seeds Zhuang Ming and Qi Siyu, in a match scheduled for the evening of 2 November in Dakar. That result had not been confirmed when this article was published.

In the pool, Shannon Tan Yan Qing swam 1:03.47 in the 100m butterfly heats to reach the final, where she finished eighth in 1:04.29. She is also entered in the 200m butterfly. Loo Cheng Feng is entered in the men's 100m freestyle. Swimming runs until 6 November.

What to watch next

Dakar is eight hours behind Malaysia, so most afternoon and evening sessions there take place late at night or early in the morning in Malaysia. The main dates for Malaysian fans this week are Lucas Lee's group finish and a possible quarter-final on 4 November, Lim Kai Shen's final wushu placing, and the beach volleyball knockout rounds. Badminton ends on 5 November.

Key takeaways

• Malaysia have 12 athletes in nine sports at Dakar 2026 and are targeting at least one medal.
• Lucas Lee beat Greece's Ioannis Sarougiannidis 21-7, 21-6 in Group F. Only the group winner reaches the quarter-finals, and his later group results were not yet available.
• Lim Kai Shen was second after the taijiquan routine (9.323) despite a fever. His final placing was still pending.
• Cadence Goh and Ong Jing Yi topped Pool F in beach volleyball after two wins and one defeat, setting up a round-of-16 match against China's top seeds.
• Shannon Tan finished eighth in the 100m butterfly final.

FAQ

How many Malaysian athletes are at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games? Twelve athletes, six men and six women, are competing in 16 events across nine sports. The 26-member delegation is led by chef de mission Wong Weng Son.

When are the badminton quarter-finals at Dakar 2026? The group stage runs until 3 November and the quarter-finals are on Wednesday, 4 November. Only group winners advance, and the badminton competition ends on 5 November.

Has Malaysia won Youth Olympic gold in badminton before? Yes. Cheam June Wei won in 2014 and Goh Jin Wei won in 2018. In 2018 Malaysia also won gold in men's hockey 5s.

Sources: Bernama, The Star, Utusan Malaysia, Newswav, Malaysia Aquatics, IWUF