Three Mauritian athletes, three opening defeats, and 112 badminton points scored against 168 conceded: that is the arithmetic of the island nation’s first days at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, where shuttlers Leo Douce and Elsa How Hong and judoka Hayden Khenmah all lost their first matches and cannot continue in the competition, Le Mauricien reported.
The Games began Saturday in the Senegalese capital, and the first Mauritians to compete — Douce and How Hong over the weekend and Khenmah on Monday — all saw their tournaments end at the first hurdle.
Khenmah’s 68-second loss to Gengashvili ends main-draw hopes in the -81 kg division
At the Dakar Expo Center, Khenmah’s run in the -81 kg judo category lasted two bouts and just over two minutes combined. He first lost in the round of 16 to Georgia’s Vazha Gengashvili after 1 minute 8 seconds, with Gengashvili scoring a yuko after 40 seconds before closing the match with an ippon on a de-ashi-harai throw.
Sent to the repechage, Khenmah then faced Cyprus’s Vladimiros Charalampous. That contest proved tighter, with the decision coming on a yuko in his opponent’s favor. Khenmah ends the competition in ninth place, just short of the final phases, after two defeats in two matches.
Douce scores 49 points in two straight badminton defeats at Dakar Arena
Douce played two matches at the Dakar Arena and did not win a game. Against American Rithik Krishna Rasamsetti on Saturday, the Mauritian lost 21-14, 21-8, scoring 22 of the 64 points played to his opponent’s 42. The gap widened in the second game, in which Douce managed only eight points.
His second match, the following day against Iran’s Amirali Ahmadloo, followed a different pattern. After losing the first game 8-21, Douce pushed harder in the second but still fell 19-21. Across the two games, Ahmadloo scored 42 points to Douce’s 27.
How Hong closer on points but still winless in both matches
How Hong also recorded two badminton defeats. Against Sri Lanka’s Nethmi Ratnayake on Sunday, she lost 21-15, 21-17, totaling 32 of the 74 points played to her opponent’s 42, who handled the decisive moments better. On Monday, against Indonesia’s Miftaqul Putri Ayudis, How Hong fell 21-17, 21-14, winning 31 of the 73 points played to the Indonesian’s 42.
| Player | Opponent | Match score | Points for | Points against |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leo Douce | Rithik Krishna Rasamsetti (USA) | 14-21, 8-21 | 22 | 42 |
| Leo Douce | Amirali Ahmadloo (Iran) | 8-21, 19-21 | 27 | 42 |
| Elsa How Hong | Nethmi Ratnayake (Sri Lanka) | 15-21, 17-21 | 32 | 42 |
| Elsa How Hong | Miftaqul Putri Ayudis (Indonesia) | 17-21, 14-21 | 31 | 42 |
Eight Mauritians remain on the Dakar 2026 schedule from Friday
The Games continue, and the next Mauritian in action will be archer Yugveer Bissessur on Friday. The remaining program for Mauritius is:
- Friday, Nov. 6: Archery — Yugveer Bissessur (first round, individual); Triathlon — Keira Rajabalee (sprint, individual)
- Saturday, Nov. 7: Boxing — Denzel Namaseevayen (preliminaries, 55 kg)
- Sunday, Nov. 8: Boxing — Julian Agathe (preliminaries, 60 kg); Cycling — Thomas Harel (road race)
- Monday, Nov. 9: Athletics — Brice Tailly (110 m hurdles, semifinals)
- Tuesday, Nov. 10: Cycling — Thomas Harel (individual time trial)
- Wednesday, Nov. 11: Fencing — Lucas Aimé (épée, pool phase)
Dakar 2026: questions after Mauritius’s three opening defeats
How did Hayden Khenmah finish ninth?
After losing to Georgia’s Vazha Gengashvili in 1 minute 8 seconds in the round of 16, Khenmah dropped to the repechage, where Cyprus’s Vladimiros Charalampous beat him on a yuko. Two losses in two bouts left him ninth in the -81 kg category, just outside the final phases.
Which Mauritian athletes are still to compete at Dakar 2026?
Eight remain on the schedule: Yugveer Bissessur (archery), Keira Rajabalee (triathlon), Denzel Namaseevayen and Julian Agathe (boxing), Thomas Harel (cycling, twice), Brice Tailly (110 m hurdles), and Lucas Aimé (épée fencing).
When does the next Mauritian compete?
Friday, Nov. 6, when Bissessur opens the archery individual first round and Rajabalee races the triathlon sprint.
