Indian badminton player Tanvi Patri edged closer to the gold medal at Youth Olympic Games by reaching the final of the event in Dakar, Senegal.
Himash, who hails from Odisha, beat the second seed from Japan, Watanabe Yuzuno 21-14, 11-21, 21-19 in the semi-final in 54 minutes on Wednesday to make the final.
The Indian missed the first game but made a strong reply to level the tie. Patri prevailed in a tiebreak to edge ahead in the tie.
The result assures India of its first ever women’s singles badminton medal in the Youth Olympic Games.
The Badminton Association of India said that Patri would meet China’s Yi Xin Zhang in the final. Zhang, the current world junior champion, had beaten Patri in the only encounter between the two at the Asia Junior Championships this year.
Elsewhere, India has had male players on the Youth Olympic badminton podium, too. H.S. Prannoy and Lakshya Sen had claimed silver medals in 2010 and 2018, respectively.
Patri can now become the first-ever Indian woman to claim Youth Olympic badminton gold.
