New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) Young shuttlers Dev Ruparelia and Tanvi Patri will represent India in the badminton competition at the Youth Olympic Games 2026, scheduled to take place in Dakar from November 1 to 5.

The Youth Olympic Games will be held in Dakar, the largest city and capital of Senegal, from October 31 to November 13.

With the draw for the badminton events announced, second seed Dev Ruparelia has been placed in Group H of the men’s singles competition alongside Shaurya Gullaiya (Canada), Petr Briza (Czech Republic) and Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Diagne (Senegal).

In the women’s singles competition, third seed Tanvi Patri has been drawn in Group F, where she will face Smrithi Adepu (Australia), Sara Patricia Delgado Gonzalez (Mexico) and Jang Yu Jeong (Korea).

The badminton competition at the Dakar Youth Olympic Games will feature men’s and women’s singles events, with 32 players competing in each category. The competition will be played across two stages - Group Stage followed by the Knockouts.

The players have been divided into eight groups of four, with each player facing the other three players in their respective group. The group winner from each group will advance to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage, followed by the semi-finals and medal matches, with the gold and bronze medals decided on November 5.

Both Indian shuttlers will look to top their respective groups and secure a place in the knockout stages as they aim to make their mark on the Youth Olympic stage.

In other events, Gunjan from Haryana in the women’s 48kg category, while L. Ambekar Meitei from Manipur in the Men’s 50kg category, will represent India.

India has secured two quotas in boxing – one in the men’s and one in the women’s category. Both Indian boxers secured their places after winning silver medals at the qualifying championship.

--IANS

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