Dakar, Nov 4 — India's Dev Ruparelia and Tanvi Patri continued their fine performance and qualified for the quarterfinals in the badminton competitions at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics in Dakar, Senegal, securing contrasting wins in their respective singles matches in the round-robin preliminary league on Tuesday.
Both Dev Ruparelia and Tanvi Patri won their first two matches in their respective groups in men's and women's singles preliminary-round league. Tuesday's wins helped them secure a place in the knockout rounds and kept them on course for winning a medal.
Ruparelia, seeded second, overcame Canada's Shaurya Gullaiya in a Men's Singles - Group H clash played on Court 3, fighting his way back from defeat in the first game to register a 23-25, 21-19, 21-11.
Tuesday's win helped Ruparelia top the four-player Group H with an all-win record in three matches. With this, he qualified for the quarterfinals to be played on Wednesday.
In the Women’s Singles - Group F, third-seed Tanvi defeated another player of Indian origin, getting the better of Australia's Smrithi Adepu 21-4, 21-12 in quick time.
Both Tanvi and Smrithi had won their respective matches in the group against Jeong Yu Jang of South Korea and Sara Patricia Delgado Gonzallex of Mexico before Tuesday's final Group stage matches.
In the winner-takes-all clash, Tanvi got the better of Smrithi in straight games to top Group F and qualified for the quarterfinals.
The badminton competition at the Dakar Youth Olympic Games featured men’s and women’s singles events, with 32 players competing in each category. The competition is being played across two stages - Group Stage followed by the Knockouts.
The players were divided into eight groups of four, with each player facing the other three players in their respective group. The group winner from each group advanced to the knockout stage, with the quarterfinals followed by semifinals and medal matches, with the gold and bronze medals decided on November 5.