YOG silver In The Kitty, Odisha Shuttler Braces For Bigger Tourneys And The 3×15 Scoring ChallengeBENGALUURU: Shuttler Tanvi Patri’s rise has not been without setbacks. A hamstring injury last year and a disc bulge in early 2026 forced the 15-year-old to miss several tournaments. However, she bounced back with a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Dakar, Senegal, giving her confidence as she prepares for the next phase of her career.Tanvi, who trains at the Centre of Badminton Excellence (CBE) in Bengaluru, lost a hard-fought final to reigning world junior champion Zhang Yi Xin.“I am not that happy (having missed out on gold), but it still feels good to return home with a silver medal. It is one of my biggest achievements. My confidence has also gone up after this tournament,” she said. “I had just one or two days of good practice before leaving for Dakar.”Vimal Kumar, director of CBE, described the silver as just the beginning for the talented Odisha shuttler, who landed at Kempegowda International Airport Saturday afternoon. He cautioned against drawing comparisons with India’s leading shuttlers.“She has good potential, but I don’t like to compare her with (PV) Sindhu, Saina (Nehwal) and others. As coaches, we know she has talent, but we cannot just say she will be the next Sindhu or Saina,” he said.Tanvi already has an impressive list of titles to her credit. She won the Asian U-15 crown in 2024 and the Asian U-17 title in 2026, besides claiming women’s singles titles at the Pontianak International Challenge in Indonesia in August, among other achievements.The focus now is on preparing her for higher-level tournaments while managing her workload. “We want her to play in higher tournaments. She’s already doing that. In addition, she may also limit herself to a certain number of tournaments in a year,” Vimal said. CBE coaches will also work on an appropriate strengthening programme for her.The coming year will bring another challenge, with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) introducing the 3×15 scoring system.“I will have to play faster because the game will end early. You cannot afford to make mistakes. It will be quite a challenge,” said Tanvi, who is more comfortable with the 21-point format.CBE coach Sagar Chopda said the academy had already begun preparing its players for the change. “We have made a few changes in our training patterns, too,” he added.
