The long road to Youth Olympics: How Tanvi Patri found her feet on the badminton court

Tanvi Patri is in Dakar as the third seed in the women's singles at the Youth Olympic Games. Ranked world No. 103, the 15-year-old arrives with a senior international title and two Asian junior crowns already to her name.

“Representing India at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar has been an incredibly proud and special moment for me,” Tanvi said.

She began her Group F campaign on Sunday with a 21-8, 21-11 win over South Korea's Jang Yu Jeong. Mexico's Sara Patricia Delgado Gonzalez and Australia's Smrithi Adepu complete the group. Only the group winner advances to the quarterfinals, with the medals to be decided on November 5.

“I have played quite a lot of tournaments this year, which has helped me gain valuable match experience and understand my game,” she said. “I feel that I am well prepared for the Youth Olympics, both physically and mentally. I just want to go onto the court and give my best.”

Three finals on the senior circuit

Tanvi's senior-circuit season began in May at the Austrian Open International Challenge, where she reached the final before losing 14-21, 17-21 to Canada's top seed Rachel Chan.

In August, she reached two more finals in consecutive weeks. At the Singapore International Challenge, she took the opening game against Japan's Manami Suizu before losing 21-19, 16-21, 14-21.

A week later, at the Pontianak International Challenge in Indonesia, she beat Chan, then ranked world No. 51, in the semifinals. In the final on August 30, she defeated South Korea's third seed Kim Min Sun 21-5, 21-6 in 32 minutes to claim her maiden senior international title.

Tanvi recognises the demands of moving up from the junior circuit. “The biggest challenge in transitioning from junior to senior badminton is the increase in the level of competition, physically, technically and mentally, because the senior players are more experienced and stronger,” she said.

“The transition from the junior to the senior circuit is the most difficult in any sport. This title will help boost my confidence in the upcoming competitions.”

She also credited mental discipline for helping her maintain her level across consecutive tournaments. “I treated each match as a fresh start, and the confidence I built from reaching the final in Singapore created positive psychological momentum.”

Full circle in Chengdu

Within a fortnight of her Pontianak triumph, Tanvi returned to China, where her family had lived because of her father's work and where she spent part of her early childhood training.

“Winning the Asian U-17 gold medal in Chengdu felt incredibly special,” she said. “Returning to the same country where my badminton journey began, this time representing India on the continental stage, brought my career full circle.”

Chengdu was also where she won the Badminton Asia U-15 title in 2024, aged 13, without dropping a game. She beat Vietnam's second seed Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen 22-20, 21-11 in the final to become the third Indian to win the girls' singles crown, after Samiya Imad Farooqui in 2017 and Tasnim Mir in 2019.

The U-17 title in September was a tougher test. Seeded second, Tanvi needed three games to beat China's Zhou Jing Li before overcoming Japan's Shizuku Kashio and China's Lin Heng Men in straight games. She then survived another three-game semifinal against China's Yu Ying Gui.

In the all-Indian final on September 13, she recovered from losing the opening game to Shaina Manimuthu to win 11-15, 15-10, 15-12. The victory kept the U-17 girls' singles title in Indian hands for a second consecutive year, following Diksha Sudhakar's win in 2025.

“Winning this title meant adding the U-17 crown to the U-15 championship I won at the same venue,” Tanvi said. “It was an unforgettable milestone that validated all the years of travelling, adapting and training across different borders since I was a little kid.”

Preparing for the 15-point format

Chengdu was played under the 3x15 scoring system, approved by Badminton World Federation members in April and set to become the standard across international badminton from January 2027. The Youth Olympic Games, however, are still using the traditional 21-point format.

Tanvi won all five matches in Chengdu, but three went the distance. She sees adapting to the shorter format as an important area of work.

“This year has been going well so far,” she said. “I will have to work on my skills for the new 15-point format.”

Learning from Cairo

Her progress has not been without setbacks. At the World Junior Championships in Cairo in October, illness affected her performance and she exited in the round of 16.

“My illness restricted me from performing well. Going forward, I need to plan better during long travels,” she said.

“The biggest learning was staying mentally strong and adapting to different playing styles. The tournament taught me a lot about handling pressure from every match.”

Before travelling to Dakar, she kept her preparation simple: “I took good rest for recovery and trained for a couple of days.”

At 15, she is already attracting attention as one of India's promising young players. But she is keen to keep expectations in perspective.

Her childhood role model was China's two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan. “Consistency in performance is the key,” she said of what she learnt from him. Her favourite Olympic memory, meanwhile, is watching every match of South Korea's An Se Young, the reigning Olympic champion.

Tanvi is 15. The 15-point era begins in January. For now, she has another opportunity in Dakar to show how far she has come.