Tanvi Patri becomes first Indian woman to reach Youth Olympic badminton final in Dakar

Fifteen-year-old Indian shuttler Tanvi Patri became the first Indian woman to reach a badminton final at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar on Wednesday, assuring India its first women’s singles medal at the event.

Patri defeated Japan’s second seed Yuzuno Watanabe 21-14, 11-21, 21-19 in a three-game semi-final that lasted 54 minutes. She took the opening game 21-14, Watanabe answered with a 21-11 second game, and the decider finished 21-19 in a closely fought contest in which both players matched each other shot for shot and refused to give away easy points.

Patri held her nerve in the crucial moments to seal the victory and book her place in the gold medal match. The match was a seesaw battle that required sustained concentration across all three games.

Patri is from Odisha and is a U17 Badminton Junior Asia Champion; she also won the U15 Asia title in 2024. Those continental titles are listed among her achievements as she progresses at the Youth Olympics.

Her run to the final adds to India’s previous Youth Olympic badminton results: HS Prannoy won silver at the inaugural edition in Singapore in 2010, Lakshya Sen finished runner-up in Buenos Aires in 2018, and Aditya Joshi reached the boys’ singles semi-finals in 2014.

Patri will meet Yi Xin Zhang of China in the final; Zhang recently won gold at the World Junior Championships. Their only previous meeting came at the Asia Junior Championships quarterfinal this year, where Patri lost 18-21, 16-21.