India's Tanvi Patri won the silver medal in women's singles badminton at the Youth Olympic Games 2026 in Dakar on Thursday, losing the final to China's reigning world junior champion Zhang Yi Xin, Sportstar reported.
The 15-year-old went down 15-21, 21-13, 26-24 in a final lasting an hour and 22 minutes, ANI reported, citing a press release.
How the final turned
Tanvi took the opening game, reeling off seven straight points from 3-5 to lead 10-5, with her net play under control. She led 4-0 in the second, but the drift in the hall began to affect her clears, and Zhang took over after the interval to force a decider.
Zhang raced to 19-10 in the third. Tanvi fought back, saved a string of match points and created three chances of her own to win gold, but Zhang's experience told in the end. Sportstar counted five match points saved; ANI said six.
Why it matters
Tanvi became the first Indian woman to win a badminton medal at the Youth Olympics. She reached the final by beating Japan's Yuzuno Watanabe 21-14, 11-21, 21-19 in the semi-finals, and Watanabe took bronze.
Her silver adds to India's earlier Youth Olympic badminton medals, both in men's singles: H.S. Prannoy in 2010 and Lakshya Sen in 2018, Sportstar reported.