Tanvi Patri, 15, wins historic silver at the Dakar Youth Olympic Games
India's Tanvi Patri lost the women's singles final to China's Zhang Yi Xin in three games, a first badminton medal at the Youth Games for an Indian woman.
What happened
At the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal, 15-year-old Indian Tanvi Patri took silver in the women's singles. According to Sportscape Magazine, she lost the final 1-2 to China's Zhang Yi Xin, the reigning world junior champion, after 1 hour 22 minutes, and was recovering from an illness. The Olympic Council of Asia gives the score as 15-21, 21-13, 26-24, saying she saved six match points and missed three of her own. The Statesman also describes a three-game final against Zhang and calls her the first Indian woman to win a singles silver at the event.
The road to the final
In the semi-final she beat Japan's Yuzuno Watanabe 21-14, 11-21, 21-19 in 54 minutes, according to All India Radio, which also says she was the first Indian woman to reach the semi-finals. IndiaSportsHub compares her with earlier silver medallists Deng Xuan, Akane Yamaguchi and Wang Zhi Yi.
Why it matters
A youth medal does not guarantee a senior career, but the earlier silver medallists named above went on to the top of the sport, which makes this a result worth following. One outlet, India News Network, names a South Korean opponent; the other sources say Zhang Yi Xin, which is what we use.