Category: News
Tanvi Patri, 15, has won the silver medal in the women’s singles badminton event at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal.
Patri, from Odisha, lost a thrilling final to China’s Zhang Yi Xin, the reigning junior world champion, 15-21, 21-13, 26-24 in 82 minutes. She fought back from 10-19 down in the deciding game, saving five match points and earning three of her own, before Zhang took the decider 26-24. She is the first Indian woman to win a badminton medal at the Youth Olympic Games — before her, only HS Prannoy (2010) and Lakshya Sen (2018) had won individual badminton silvers for India.
It is one of India’s notable results at the Youth Olympic Games, the global multi-sport event for young athletes aged 15 to 18.
Why it matters
Badminton is one of India’s strongest Olympic sports. Indian shuttlers have won Olympic medals at every Games since London 2012, and a Youth Olympic medal at 15 marks Tanvi Patri as a player to watch for the future.
The Youth Olympic Games are designed to give young athletes experience of a multi-sport Games before they move to the senior level. A silver medal there is a strong early result in a player’s career.
India at the Games
India’s young athletes have been competing across sports in Dakar. The badminton silver adds to a growing list of Indian youth results, alongside the country’s recent senior successes — including the men’s 50m pistol team gold at the ISSF World Championships in Doha and the record 114-medal haul at the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where India won 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze medals.
Sources: India Today, Khel Now and The Daily Jagran, 6 November 2026; FreeJobAlert current affairs, 7 November 2026.
