DAKAR, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's Zhang Yixin rallied from a game down to defeat India's Tanvi Patri 15-21, 21-13, 26-24 in an 82-minute final on Thursday, claiming the women's singles badminton gold at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, while compatriot Hong Tianyue took bronze in the men's singles.

In a tense deciding game, Zhang built a 19-10 lead before Patri fought back to level the score at 20-20 and earn three match points. Zhang held her nerve to save all three before eventually sealing victory 26-24.

"I've been in similar situations this year, when I let a big lead slip and ended up losing. That experience helped me today," Zhang said. "With my coach's encouragement, I adjusted my mindset, put the pressure aside and focused on each point and each shot."

Zhang said the changing wind conditions made it difficult to control her shots, particularly when playing high clears against Patri's aggressive game.

She also acknowledged the challenge of staying composed while leading, given the pressure of representing China and her determination to win the title.

"I felt less pressure after my opponent caught up, which allowed me to relax and enjoy the match," she said. "This was probably the most unforgettable match I've played so far. It was full of twists and turns."

The victory added to Zhang's recent success after she won the women's singles title at the BWF World Junior Championships in Cairo, Egypt, in October.

Japan's Yuzuno Watanabe took bronze with a straight-game victory over Chinese Taipei's Cheng Chih-yun.

In the men's singles, Riyan Malhan of the United Arab Emirates defeated France's Mady Sow in the final to claim his country's first gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games. China's Hong secured bronze with a 2-0 victory over South Korea's Park Jung-bin in 33 minutes.

"I feel a little regret, but I think I'm mostly excited. After all, yesterday, even though I lost, I didn't give up. Today I started believing in myself again. That's how I won the match. I'm really happy about that," the 17-year-old Hong said after the match.

Hong added that he still had plenty of room for improvement.

"I haven't achieved my goal yet. I still need to go back, identify what I need to improve, train hard and keep working."

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