Dubai-born Riyan Malhan wins the UAE's first Youth Olympic gold, in badminton

Riyan Malhan, a teenage badminton player who grew up on Dubai's courts, has won the boys' singles title at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, giving the UAE its first gold medal in the history of the Games. WAM, the state news agency, reported that he beat France's Mady Sow 2-0 in the final.

It is only the second Youth Olympic medal the UAE has won, after Omar Al Marzooqi took silver in showjumping at Buenos Aires 2018. Malhan's path to the final ran through a group stage in which he beat Malaysia's Lucas Lee 21-15, 21-11, according to The Star, and a quarter-final on 4 November against Thailand's Punnatat Prempunpong, which he won 2-0, WAM said at the time.

The win caps a run of firsts. Earlier this year he became the first UAE player to win the singles gold at the Badminton Asia Under-17 Championships in Chengdu, China, and he has since reached No. 1 in the world junior (under-19) singles ranking, Gulf News reported. He has said his next target is a medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Malhan was born in Dubai to Indian parents and plays for the UAE. "UAE is my first home," he told Gulf News in an interview published on Friday, in which he also spoke about returning to celebrate Diwali with his family. After the Games he was received by the UAE's sports minister, Emirates 24|7 reported.

Badminton is a small sport in the UAE compared with cricket or football, but it has a busy junior scene in Dubai, with academies in sports halls and schools across the city and national junior events through the year. A gold of this kind tends to bring new players to those clubs.

For families who want to try the sport, the UAE Badminton Federation publishes its national and junior tournaments, and most Dubai academies run trial sessions for children. Malhan's next competitions as a senior player have not been announced; the federation's channels are the place to follow them.