Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics: Taniya creates history with silver medal in beach wrestling, becomes first Indian to achieve feat

India's Taniya created history at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games by becoming the first Indian wrestler to win a beach wrestling medal at the global youth event. The youngster clinched silver in the women's 75kg category after losing 1-2 to China's Min Zhao in the gold-medal bout to Saturday.

Although Taniya missed out on the top podium finish, her performance in Dakar marked a significant milestone for Indian wrestling. Beach wrestling is making its debut at the Summer Youth Olympic Games, and Taniya became India's first medallist in the discipline at the competition.

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China's Min Zhao, meanwhile, added another major achievement to her record by winning the inaugural Youth Olympics beach wrestling gold medal in the women's 75kg category. Zhao had previously claimed gold in the women's 69kg category at the 2025 U17 World Wrestling Championships in Athens, where she defeated Germany's Ayla Sahin 13-2 in the final.

Taniya's impressive run to the Beach wrestling final

Taniya enjoyed an impressive campaign in Dakar, winning all three of her group-stage bouts to secure a place in the semi-finals. She opened her campaign with a 3-1 victory over Germany's Mia Bauer before registering a dominant 3-0 win against Greece's Vasiliki Karavanou. The Indian wrestler then defeated Estonia's Merily Vaester 4-1 in her final group-stage encounter to finish at the top of her group.

Her biggest challenge came in the semi-final against the United States' Matilda Ann Hruby, who entered the competition as one of the leading contenders for the gold medal.

Hruby had won the 75kg title at the U17 Beach Wrestling World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, in August. However, Taniya produced a strong performance to defeat the American 3-1 and book her place in the gold-medal bout. She eventually finished her campaign with four victories and one defeat, securing a historic silver medal for India.

Taniya's international wrestling record

The silver medal in Dakar adds to Taniya's growing list of international achievements. Earlier in 2026, she won bronze at the U17 World Wrestling Championships in Baku. Competing in the women's 69kg freestyle category, the Indian wrestler defeated Poland's Maja Wejchan 12-2 in the bronze-medal bout. Her latest achievement in beach wrestling further highlights her potential on the international stage.

India's medal tally

Taniya's silver medal took India's overall tally at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games to seven medals, comprising three silver and four bronze. Before her historic finish, India had secured six medals across four disciplines.

Khushbu Darjada won silver in the women's 63kg judo event, while badminton player Tanvi Patri secured silver in women's singles. Swimming contributed three medals to India's tally. Dhinidhi Desinghu claimed bronze in the women's 100m and 200m freestyle events, while Tirthank Pegu won bronze in the men's 200m butterfly, becoming the first Indian male swimmer to win a Youth Olympics medal.

Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu also secured bronze in the women's changquan combined event in wushu.