Bhubaneswar: It was a silver medal worth its weight in gold.
Odisha’s Tanvi Patri had to settle for second place on the podium on Thursday night, but she was within sniffing distance of touching gold at the Dakar Youth Olympics 2026.
A day earlier, she had already scripted history by storming into the final and being assured of becoming the first female medallist in badminton from India.
She was happy but not satisfied, and wanted to go all the way and emerge champion. Tanvi was up against reigning World junior champion Zhang Yi Xin, confident that she could beat her.
And boy did she come close!
Showing a fighting spirit that defines great champions, 15-year-old Tanvi showed her mettle in the decider.
Down 10-19, she won five points in a row. Then Tanvi stared at defeat as Zhang held five championship points at 20-15. Tanvi just didn’t give up, and caught up with her Chinese opponent at 20-20.
Tanvi even had three match points, but couldn’t somehow close it out to eventually lose 21-15, 13-21, 24-26 after a gruelling 82-minute battle.
Writing history with every smash! 🥈🔥
Silver for Tanvi Patri at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar. The first Indian woman to reach the YOG women’s singles podium! 🇮🇳🥈 https://t.co/i2n2mMw1G2
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) November 5, 2026
“It was a good match. Even in the final game I was down on points but somehow managed to get close,” Tanvi said after receiving her silver medal.
“It’s a really special feeling.. this experience will give me confidence to play better in future tournaments. If I compete in Olympics also, I’ll be confident to play well,” said Tanvi.
She thanked her parents, especially her dad. “He was the one who taught me to play badminton.”
Rabinarayan Tanvi himself wanted to be a badminton player. He couldn’t fulfil his wish, but did everything within his means to make his daughter a good shuttler.
He took Tanvi to Jiangsu, a province in eastern China, where he had gone on work assignment.
“It all started from China. I was in China for a long time because of my job. And when I had an interest in playing some sports, especially badminton, I couldn’t pursue it because of financial constraint and infrastructure not being available in many places in India. You had to focus on studies and learn to earn money,” Rabinarayan told India Today.
“Then, when I had some financial support, I thought about my kid. Luckily, we were in China for a long time.”
Tanvi also mentioned about her time spent in China.
“Earlier I used to train in China, so I’m grateful to my Chinese coaches too,” she said after the final.
Her dad was in the stadium to cheer for her, while back home, her mom watched on TV.
“My mom and grandparents have been watching my matches and supporting me even though it’s late night in India (5 and half hours difference with Dakar),” Tanvi said.
She was going to miss Dakar after her “very nice experience in the Olympic village” where she made many new friends.