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Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya congratulated young Indian shuttler Tanvi Patri on winning a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games 2026, becoming the first Indian woman to claim a badminton medal at the competition.
Sharing a post on X, Mandaviya praised the 15-year-old's historic achievement, describing her success as a proud moment for the country. "Bharats daughter Patri scripts history with a Silver at the Youth Olympic Games 2026, becoming the first Indian woman shuttler to win a badminton medal at the Games!" Mandaviya wrote on X. Tanvi secured the silver medal in the women's singles event after going down against reigning world junior champion Zhang Yi Xin in a thrilling final in Dakar, Senegal, on Thursday. The Indian teenager put up a spirited fight before losing 15-21, 21-13, 26-24 in a contest that lasted one hour and 22 minutes. She saved six match points and had three opportunities of her own to seal the gold medal before Zhang eventually prevailed. Tanvi started the summit clash cautiously but produced an impressive run in the opening game, winning seven consecutive points to turn a 3-5 deficit into a 10-5 lead. Her effective punch tosses and control at the net helped her take the first game 21-15. The Indian carried her momentum into the second game, opening up a 4-0 advantage. However, Zhang gradually found her rhythm and capitalised on the drift affecting Tanvi's control of the clears to level the match with a 21-13 win. The decider witnessed a remarkable fightback from the Indian. Zhang initially established a commanding 19-10 lead through her cross-court drops, but Tanvi refused to give up and reduced the deficit to 19-15. After Zhang earned five match points, Tanvi saved all of them and subsequently created three opportunities to finish the contest in her favour. However, the Chinese shuttler held her nerve to clinch the game 26-24 and secure the gold medal. With the achievement, Tanvi became the first Indian women's singles badminton player to win a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games. Before her, HS Prannoy had won an individual silver in 2010, while Lakshya Sen secured the same medal in 2018. Sen had also won mixed team gold with Team Alpha, comprising shuttlers from eight different countries. (ANI)
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