Taniya makes history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Youth Olympics in beach wrestling

India’s Taniya scripted the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics and became the first Indian wrestler to win a medal in beach wrestling at the global youth showpiece. The youngster settled for silver in the women’s 75kg category after losing 1-2 to China’s Min Zhao in a tight battle for the gold on Saturday.

Despite missing out on gold, Taniya has had an impressive campaign in Dakar and has put in a number of great performances on the international stage. Her silver medal also marked a significant moment for Indian wrestling, with beach wrestling making its historic debut at the Summer Youth Olympics.

Zhao, meanwhile, entered the final with an impressive pedigree. The Chinese wrestler won the women’s 69kg gold medal at the 2025 Athens U17 World Championships, defeating Germany’s Ayla Sahin 13-2 in the final. She added another major achievement to her record when she won the Youth Olympic Beach Wrestling title in the 75 kg category.

TANIYA’S IMPRESSIVE RUN IN DAKAR

Taniya started her campaign in the women’s 75kg category with a 3-1 victory over Germany’s Mia Bauer. She followed it up with a dominant 3-0 win against Greece’s Vasiliki Karavanou before defeating Estonia’s Merily Vaester 4-1 in her final group stage match.

Three consecutive victories helped Taniya dominate her group and secure a place in the semi-finals. Her biggest statement, however, came in the final four against American Matilda Ann Hruby.

Hrubý arrived in Dakar as one of the strongest contenders after winning the 75kg gold medal at the U17 World Beach Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan in August. The American also enjoyed a remarkable run in the competition, winning all five of her matches by fall.

But Taniya rose to the occasion and beat the highly-rated American 3-1 to book her place in the gold medal match. In the end, she finished with four wins and one loss, capping off an impressive campaign with a historic silver medal.

The Indian youngster has already shown her potential on the international wrestling circuit by winning bronze at the Baku 2026 World Under-17 Wrestling Championship. In the women’s 69kg freestyle category, she beat Poland’s Maja Wejchan 12-2 in the bronze medal match.

INDIAN MEDAL STANDS

Taniya’s silver medal took India’s tally at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics to seven, with three silver and four bronze medals.

Before placing on the podium, India won six medals in four events. Khushbu Darjada secured silver in women’s 63kg judo, while Tanvi Patri claimed silver in women’s badminton.

Swimming contributed three medals to India’s tally with Dhinidhi Desinghu winning bronze in the women’s 100m and 200m freestyle events. Tirthank Pegu also secured bronze in the 200m butterfly, becoming the first Indian swimmer to win a medal at the Youth Olympics.

Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu added another bronze in women’s combined changquan in wushu.

Taniya’s achievement has now added beach wrestling to India’s list of medal events at Dakar 2026. With the competition marking the debut of the sport at the Youth Olympics, her silver medal will remain a landmark in the country’s wrestling history.

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