Dakar (Senegal), Nov 8: Indian wrestler Taniya created history at the Youth Olympics 2026 in Dakar, winning the country's first-ever medal in youth wrestling with a silver in the women's 75 kg category.

Taniya went down 1-2 against China's Min Zhao in the gold medal bout at the Saly Beach West venue on Sunday, as per Olympics.com. Zhao is the reigning 2025 U17 World Wrestling Champion in the 69 kg category.

The Indian wrestler had earlier secured her place in the final with a 3-1 victory over USA's Matilda Hruby in the semi-finals. Although she missed out on gold, Taniya's silver marked a historic achievement for Indian wrestling at the Youth Olympics.

Beach wrestling made its debut at the Youth Olympics this year, adding to the significance of Taniya's achievement. The Indian grappler entered the competition on the back of an impressive run, having won a bronze medal in the women's freestyle 69 kg category at the 2026 U17 World Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. She had also secured silver at the U17 Asian Championships earlier this year.

Taniya's silver took India's medal tally at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics to seven, comprising three silver and four bronze medals. India's other silver medals came through Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada in women's 63 kg judo and Tanvi Patri in badminton.

Meanwhile, swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu secured two bronze medals in the women's 100 m and 200 m freestyle events, while Tirthank Pegu won bronze in the men's 200 m butterfly. Desinghu became the first Indian to win multiple medals at a single Youth Olympics edition, while Pegu scripted history by claiming India's first-ever male swimming medal at the competition.

Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu also contributed to India's medal tally with a bronze in the women's changquan combined wushu event.

With seven medals in Dakar, India's overall Youth Olympics tally has risen to 30 across four editions. The country has now won three gold, 19 silver and eight bronze medals in the history of the competition. (ANI)