Tanvi Patri wins silver to become first Indian woman with Youth Olympics badminton medal
The 15-year-old from Odisha secured a silver medal in the women's singles event at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.
Tanvi Patri, a 15-year-old badminton player from Odisha, won a silver medal in the women's singles event at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, according to reports by Times of India, India Today and Odisha Bytes. She is the first Indian woman to win a badminton medal at the Youth Olympics.
In the gold-medal match, Patri lost to China's Zhang Yi Xin, the reigning World Junior Champion, in a three-game encounter lasting 82 minutes. The final score was 15-21, 21-13, 26-24.
Patri initially won the first game 21-15 but lost the second 13-21. In the deciding game, Zhang took a 19-10 lead, but Patri saved five match points to level the score at 24-24. Although Patri had three opportunities to win the gold, Zhang won the final points to secure the victory.
The third-seeded player, who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA), reached the final after defeating Thailand's Kakanik Kungkaew in the quarterfinals and Japan's Yuzuno Watanabe in the semifinals. Her semifinal win made her the first Indian woman to reach a badminton semifinal at the tournament.
Patri joins H.S. Prannoy and Lakshya Sen as the only Indian badminton players to have won individual silver medals at the Youth Olympic Games. The Badminton Association of India General Secretary stated that her performance at 15 is an extraordinary accomplishment that has made the nation proud.