Published: November 6, 2026 at 8:20 am
Tanvi Patri almost pulled off a miraculous comeback in the final of the women’s singles badminton at the Youth Olympics in Dakar, Senegal, on Thursday.
The Indian failed to better compatriots Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy’s efforts but her silver medal effort was a testament to her rising prowess in the world of badminton as he became the first Indian women to win a medal at the Youth Olympics.
Despite winning the opening game and mounting a remarkable comeback in the decider, the 15-year-old Tanvi Patri lost 15-21, 21-13, 26-24 to China’s reigning world junior champion Zhang Yi Xin at the Dakar Arena.
“This feeling is really special for me, and I think this will give me more confidence to play better in the future tournaments, and if I compete in the future Olympics also,” Tanvi told Olympics.com after the match. “I’ll be confident to play good.”
Tanvi’s silver was India’s third badminton medal at the Youth Olympic Games and the first by a woman. Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy are the only Indian badminton players to have won Youth Olympic medals in badminton. While Lakshya finished runners up at Buenos Aires 2018, Prannoy missed the gold at Singapore 2010.
The 15-year-old Tanvi Patri fought back to close the gap to four points at 19-15, but an error on a smash from the Indian handed her opponent five match point opportunities. Pic: X
The Indian shuttler started strongly in the final, racing to an 11-6 lead in the opening game before comfortably closing it out. Zhang responded by taking the second game to force a decider.
Tanvi fights back but falters
Zhang then took control of the decider early with her trademark cross-court drops to open up a 19-10 lead. Tanvi fought back to close the gap to four points at 19-15, but an error on a smash from the Indian handed her opponent five match point opportunities.
Down 10-19 and then 15-20 in the decider, she saved five gold medal points. Five! Both players threw everything at each other. The Odisha shuttler also had three chances to wrap up the gold medal for herself. A net chord went against Tanvi. Zhang somehow got to a shuttle that looked certain to go wide. Little things, fine margins. That’s how close it was. The Chinese shuttler eventually had the last word.
Sindhu and Lakshya fly tricolour in Germany by winning the singles titles at Hylo Open
The Indian enjoyed an impressive run at the Youth Olympics, winning all three of her matches in Group F against the Republic of Korea’s Jang Yu Jeong, Mexico’s Sara Patricia Delgado Gonzalez and Australia’s Smrithi Adepu to top the standings and advance to the quarterfinals.
She then defeated Thailand’s Kungkaew Kakanik 21-17, 21-13 in the quarterfinals before overcoming Japan’s Yuzuno Watanabe 21-14, 11-21, 21-19 in a closely contested semifinal to reach the gold-medal match. Tanvi had dropped just one game on way to the final.
Meanwhile, Dev Ruparelia, the other Indian badminton player at Dakar, was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the men’s singles after losing 24-22, 21-10 to Hong Kong China’s Hong Tian Yue.
Tanvi’s silver was India’s fourth medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, taking the country’s tally to two silver and two bronze.
Rajkumari Chanu’s bronze in wushu, Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada’s silver in judo and Dhinidhi Desinghu’s bronze in swimming are the other three.
