Tanvi Patri assured herself a medal at the 2026 Youth Olympics after the 15-year-old from Odisha became the first Indian badminton player to reach the women’s singles final in Dakar, Senegal on Wednesday. The young Indian produced a spirited show to defeat Japanese Yuzuno Watanabe, 21-14, 11-21, 21-19 in a thrilling three-game semi-final that lasted 54 minutes.
Tanvi’s run to the final marks another milestone for Indian badminton at the Youth Olympics. Earlier in 2010, won silver at the inaugural edition in Singapore, while finished runner-up in Buenos Aires in 2018. Aditya Joshi had reached the boys’ singles semi-finals in 2014.
But things won’t easy for Tanvi, as the Asian U17 champion will be facing World Junior champion Yi Xin Zhang in the final, who is seeking to become the first player to achieve the World Junior and YOG golden double. This was not the first time Tanvi was meeting Watanabe.
The Indian met the Japanese previously at the 2024 Pathum Thani Junior International Series in Thailand, where Tanvi went down 14-21, 10-21. But this time, the Indian was determined to take the revenge. The contest turned out to be a closely fought battle, with both players matching each other shot for shot and refusing to give away easy points.
Tanvi started strongly to take the opening game 21-14, but Watanabe fought back in the second, winning it 21-11 to force the match into a decider. With a place in the final at stake, the third game saw both players go neck and neck in an intense battle.
Tanvi, however, held her nerve in the crucial moments and edged past her Japanese opponent 21-19 to seal a memorable victory and book her place in the gold medal match.
Tanvi will now turn her attention to the final, where she will look to cap her historic campaign with a gold medal. The Indian will face Chinese Zhang for the gold medal, who recently won gold at the World Junior Championships. Their only previous meeting was at the Asia Junior Championships quarterfinal this year where Tanvi lost a close battle 18-21, 16-21.
Reacting after the win in the semifinals, Tanvi wants to give her best one last time in the competition. “In the last game I tried to play faster downwards and (net) dribble, that’s why her lifts were coming mid-court and I was getting the opportunity to attack and win,” Patri told BWF.
“I’m very excited for tomorrow’s match. I just want to give my best. I’ll try to win. Let’s see what happens.”
Born in Odisha, Tanvi is one of the bright prospects in the sport and a among the rising badminton prodigies in the country. Although she staryed her badminton in India, it was her time in China (due to her father’s job posting) that attracted the Balasore teen more towards the sports. According to an Indian Express report, Tanvi, who is also fond of roller skating, learnt the fundamentals of badminton in China.
Tanvi’s initial junior continental medals, all came in China, including the Asian U-17 gold medal in Chengdu earlier this year. According to Orisports.com, Tanvi started training initially under top Chinese coach Jiang Yong Yi and won nine titles in China between 2017 and 2020.
However, it was due to , that her family had to return back to India. She then joined Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) in 2022 after impressing the scouts in a camp organised to spot talent.
