Indian badminton prodigy Tanvi Patri etched her name into the history books by becoming the first Indian woman to win a badminton medal at the Youth Olympic Games
Young Indian badminton sensation Tanvi Patri made history after becoming the first-ever Indian woman to clinch a women’s singles badminton medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal.
The 15-year-old finished second in the women’s singles badminton event on Thursday, claiming silver after losing to Zhang Xi Yin of China 15-21, 21-13, 26-24 in a riveting three-game clash which went on for 82 minutes.
Tanvi makes history
Tanvi made history after becoming the fourth Indian shuttler to reach the badminton semifinals at the Youth Olympics.
Only HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and Aditya Joshi have previously reached the badminton semis, with Prannoy and Lakshya wrapping their respective campaigns with a silver medal finish.
Aditya, meanwhile, reached the boys’ singles semifinals but could not clinch a medal.
Leading into the summit clash, Tanvi defeated Thailand’s Kungkaew Kakanik in the quarter-final and Japan’s Yuzuno Watanabe in the semi-final.
She had already secured India’s first women’s singles badminton medal at the Youth Olympics upon winning the semi-final match-up.
More from Badminton NewsTanvi fought until the end
In the summit clash, Tanvi took some time to settle into her rhythm, recovering from a 3-5 deficit to surge into a 10-5 lead. She then took complete control of the contest, creating multiple attacking opportunities to claim the opening game 21-15 in just 25 minutes.
Tanvi kicked off the second game with a 4-0 lead, but Zheng eventually gained control to win 21-13, forcing a series decider.
Tanvi tried to fight back in the decider, but Zheng looked in control early in the game, taking a 19-10 lead. The Indian shuttler bridged the gap by taking the score to 19-15, but an error from Tanvi gave her opponent five match points.
Tanvi fought back to save five match points and created three chances to clinch the gold medal. But Zhang’s vast experience came to the fore at the crucial moment, helping her edge past the Indian youngster.