India’s Taniya scripted history at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, becoming the first Indian wrestler to win a beach wrestling medal at the global youth showpiece. The youngster settled for silver in the women’s 75kg category after going down 1-2 to China’s Min Zhao in a closely contested gold-medal bout on Saturday.
Despite missing out on the gold, Taniya produced an impressive campaign in Dakar, announcing herself on the international stage with a series of commanding performances. Her silver medal also marked a significant moment for Indian wrestling, with beach wrestling making its historic debut at the Summer Youth Olympic Games.
Zhao, meanwhile, came into the final with an impressive pedigree. The Chinese wrestler had won the women’s 69kg gold medal at the 2025 U17 World Wrestling Championships in Athens, defeating Germany’s Ayla Sahin 13-2 in the final. She added another major achievement to her record by claiming the inaugural Youth Olympics beach wrestling title in the 75kg category.
TANIYA’S IMPRESSIVE RUN IN DAKAR
Taniya began 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 overcoming Estonia’s Merily Vaester 4-1 in her final group-stage bout.
The three successive victories helped Taniya top her group and secure a place in the semi-finals. However, her biggest statement came in the last-four clash against the United States’ Matilda Ann Hruby.
Hruby had arrived in Dakar as one of the strongest contenders after winning the 75kg gold medal at the U17 Beach Wrestling World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, in August. The American had also enjoyed a remarkable run at the competition, winning all five of her bouts by fall.
But Taniya rose to the occasion, defeating the highly-rated American 3-1 to book her place in the gold-medal bout. She eventually finished with four victories and one defeat, capping an impressive campaign with a historic silver medal.
The Indian youngster had already demonstrated her potential on the international wrestling circuit by winning bronze at the 2026 U17 World Wrestling Championships in Baku. Competing in the women’s 69kg freestyle category, she defeated Poland’s Maja Wejchan 12-2 in the bronze-medal bout.
INDIA’S MEDAL TALLY RISES
Taniya’s silver medal took India’s overall tally at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games to seven, comprising three silver and four bronze medals.
Before her podium finish, India had won six medals across four disciplines. Khushbu Darjada secured silver in the women’s 63kg judo event, while Tanvi Patri claimed silver in women’s singles badminton.
Swimming has contributed three medals to India’s tally, with Dhinidhi Desinghu winning bronze in both the women’s 100m and 200m freestyle events. Tirthank Pegu also secured bronze in the men’s 200m butterfly, becoming the first Indian male swimmer to win a Youth Olympics medal.
Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu added another bronze in the women’s changquan combined event in wushu.
Taniya’s achievement has now added beach wrestling to India’s list of medal-winning disciplines at Dakar 2026. With the competition marking the sport’s debut at the Youth Olympics, her silver medal will remain a landmark moment in the country’s wrestling history.
– Ends
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