China claimed one gold and one bronze medal in badminton at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Thursday, as Zhang Yixin secured the women’s singles title in an 82-minute final, Xinhua reported. Zhang rallied from a game down to defeat India’s Tanvi Patri 15-21, 21-13, 26-24, overcoming a late deficit in the deciding game.
Zhang held a 19-10 lead in the third game before Patri forced match points. The Chinese teenager saved three of those points before closing out the victory. “I’ve been in similar situations this year, when I let a big lead slip and ended up losing,” Zhang said. “That experience helped me today.”
In the men’s singles bronze-medal match, Hong Tianyue earned a medal for China by defeating South Korea’s Park Jung-bin. The men’s gold went to the United Arab Emirates’ Riyan Malhan, who beat France’s Mady Sow to claim his country’s first-ever Youth Olympic gold medal.
Zhu Yuanling Claims Women’s Street Skateboarding Title
Zhu Yuanling became the first female skateboarder to win a Youth Olympic gold medal, taking the women’s street title in Dakar. The 15-year-old, who previously won the event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, overcame early errors in the final.
“I made mistakes on my first two runs,” Zhu said. “If I hadn’t nailed the third one, I probably wouldn’t have won this gold medal.” Zhu identified the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as her next target.
Xie Yichen Wins 50m Breaststroke Despite Illness
Sixteen-year-old swimmer Xie Yichen secured the men’s 50m breaststroke title in 28.13 seconds, marking his second gold and third medal of the Games. Xie competed despite suffering from a high fever and persistent diarrhea, which had forced his withdrawal from the 200m individual medley on Wednesday.
“I felt quite calm inside because I was physically so uncomfortable that I just didn’t have the extra energy to celebrate,” Xie said. “But I was confident that I could take this gold.”
In other swimming events, Romania’s Daria-Mariuca Silisteanu won the women’s 50m backstroke, her second gold of the competition. The men’s 50m backstroke resulted in a tie, with Greece’s Nikolaos Papatheodorou and Portugal’s Miguel Reis Oliveira sharing the title after both clocked 25.69 seconds. Japan’s Mana Ishikawa added a fourth gold to her tally by winning the women’s 50m breaststroke.
Zhu Yuanling of China won the skateboarding women's street final at Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games at Complexe Tour de l'Oeuf in Dakar, Senegal, on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/FS36VLR9va
Chen Minhsin Claims Table Tennis Gold
Chen Minhsin of Chinese Taipei defeated Singapore’s Loy Ming Ying 4-2 to win the women’s singles table tennis gold, marking the first Youth Olympic title for Chinese Taipei in the sport. In the men’s singles final, Japan’s Ryuusei Kawakami defeated Colombia’s Emanuel Otalvaro 4-2 to secure his second gold medal of the Games.
In equestrian competition, China’s Sun Ruirui placed seventh in the individual jumping qualifier round B, advancing to the final scheduled for Friday. Portugal’s Artur Gaspar earned the men’s triathlon gold.
Swimming concludes on Friday, with four final gold medals available. China’s Chang Mohan is set to compete in the women’s 200m freestyle and 200m butterfly, while Xu Enge will represent China in the women’s triathlon.
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