The 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games: Quarterfinal Finishes for US Athletes
- November 6, 2026
- 2:16 pm
Last week in Dakar, Senegal, elite athletes from across the globe gathered to compete in the Summer Youth Olympic Games: Dakar 2026. Among them, two U19 players represented Team USA in badminton. Less than one month after competing in the 2026 BWF World Junior Championships in Cairo, Egypt, Micah Henares Cruz and Rithik Krishna Rasamsetti returned to Africa to take this step in their badminton journeys, playing in Women’s Singles and Men’s Singles respectively.
Both players progressed through group play and into the last leg of competition. Each had quarterfinal exits, placing in the top eight overall. At just 15 years old, Resamsetti was the youngest player to make it to the quarterfinals in men’s singles. The team’s coach, Leo Qiu, glows, “I’m very proud of both athletes for their hard work and effort throughout the competition.”
According to the OIS, “The Youth Olympic Games provides an opportunity for young, standout athletes to compete in elite environments and prepare future Olympic hopefuls.” The event is an avenue for elite competition as well as multi-cultural exchange. Cruz expressed in an Instagram post, “I am especially grateful for the opportunity to meet so many incredible athletes from different sports, all coming together in Dakar to represent their countries.” With athletes from 204 countries, it was truly a global event.
Cruz and Rasemetti both came with the goal of a medal, but also with the goal of growing the sport of badminton in the US. When asked about her feelings on representing the USA in badminton, Cruz responded “I feel really honoured because I worked so hard for this, maybe badminton can get more recognised as well. So that’s just my main goal here.” Similarly, Rasamsetti confided in an interview with OIS that an “Olympic medal is my dream. Getting an Olympic medal this young is amazing … it would really boost up US Badminton.”
Cruz reflected in an Instagram post that she is “so grateful to have made it to the quarterfinals and even more honored to have had the opportunity to represent the USA at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.” She expanded, “although the result wasn’t what I had hoped for, there is still so much to take away from this experience.”
Cruz and Rasametti have a lot to be proud of. We are so excited to see what is next for them!
Find the official results on the BWF page.
Photo credit: OIS (Olympic Information Services.