Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
Riyan Malhan has made history for the UAE by winning the badminton gold medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal. It is the UAE’s first individual gold medal at the Games.
The third seed achieved the feat without dropping a single game throughout the tournament, concluding his impressive campaign with a 21-17, 21-18 victory over top seed Mady Sow of France in a final that lasted 39 minutes.
The composed 16-year-old did not celebrate wildly, instead going over to console his vanquished rival and hugged his support group before walking off the Dakar Arena court.
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Malhan had played two knockout matches the previous day, but there was no sign of fatigue when the final stage beckoned against his toughest opponent.
In the quarter-finals, he had defeated Thailand's Punnatat Prempunpong, before facing fifth seed Hong Tian Yue of China in a demanding semi-final on the same day. Yue took the bronze medal in the third-place match just before the final.
After falling behind early in the opening game against Yue, Malhan forced a tie-breaker on the penultimate point to claim the set 24-22. He maintained control throughout the second set, accelerating after leading 12-9 to close out the match 24-22, 21-13.
The victory set up the gold-medal match against France's Sow, who had advanced to the final after defeating South Korea's Park Jung-bin 21-12, 21-16.
Malhan's gold capped a successful day for UAE sport in Dakar, following another top finish in equestrian competition. UAE national team rider Alya Almheiri starred in Team Asia’s gold-medal victory in the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) team competition.
Team South America secured silver, while Team Africa took the bronze medal.
The FEI team event is held separately from the individual competition, which is included in the official Olympic medal programme.
In the individual showjumping qualifiers, Almheiri clocked a time of 71.81 seconds with eight penalty points in a field of 24 international competitors, securing her place in Friday's final round where the individual medals will be decided.
