From the third Asian Olympic Games in Bahrain / A great achievement by the young future-makers in Manama

Mohammad-Reza Nasrallah-zadeh, Secretary of the Association of Sports Media Managers of Iran

The third edition of the Asian Youth Olympic Games was held from 27 Mehr to 9 Aban, with the participation of nearly 8,000 athletes from 45 Asian countries across 26 sports in Manama, Bahrain. Our national delegation participated with 239 athletes in 24 sports and managed to finish fourth in the competition — after China, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and ahead of South Korea and Japan. This title deserves congratulations to the athletes and their coaches and, in a single phrase, to Iranian sport — and we should express appreciation for the great work they accomplished.

It is worth emphasizing the main point here that our country’s young athletes performed their great task in these competitions in the best possible manner — both those who won medals and those who did not; both those whose names appeared among the successful sports and those who were criticized in sports where performance was below expectations. The belief is that they applied everything in their power and, as a result, reaped the fruits of their efforts.

In this process we should not overlook certain realities: we have consistently performed well in the adolescent and youth categories thanks to the supportive backing of their families in various competitions. However, we must accept that the primary work assigned to federations and national sport bodies starts from now — namely to plan appropriately for these young sporting talents and retain them for the future of the country’s sport.

It would also be useful for officials to review the two previous editions of these Games and realize the important fact that we have not had much success to date in retaining our adolescent and youth assets. Although responsible parties quote a 12% retention figure, a look at the names indicates this figure does not even reach 5%, which means substantial long-term programs are needed to address this major shortcoming. Below we will point to the remaining observations from these competitions, section by section and with statistics.

Excellent Performance

Fairly and squarely, the performance of the Iranian delegation — especially our young athletes — at the third Asian Youth Olympic Games 2025 in Bahrain was not only good but excellent, and they deserve praise and recognition for the important and great work they did. These youngsters, with proper planning, can secure the future of the nation’s sport.

Medals in 19 Sports

Iran’s 239-member delegation competed in 24 sports at these Games and won medals in 19 of them; in 5 sports they failed to achieve podium success.

First Experience

The first Asian Youth Olympic Games were held in 2009 in Singapore, where Iran participated with 54 athletes. The Iranian result in those Games was one gold, three silver and two bronze medals, placing Iran 11th in the final medal table.

Second Participation

The second edition took place in 2013 in Nanjing, China. Although the authorities had dispatched more athletes (25 additional competitors), the Iranian 79-member delegation in Nanjing attained only 6 silver and 2 bronze medals. A debatable performance that placed Iran 20th in the medal standings.

Third Event

The third edition of the Asian Youth Olympic Games, after a 12-year gap, was held in 2025 in Manama, Bahrain. Iran participated with 239 athletes across 24 of the 26 sports, winning 22 gold, 18 silver and 36 bronze medals, finishing fourth in the overall standings.

Executive Body and Accompanying Delegation

Although precise statistics have not been published to date, reports indicate that the number of accompanying officials, guests and members of Iran’s supervisory delegation was higher than expected — a matter that becomes more significant when we learn that these individuals did not reside in the Games Village but stayed in hotels!

Forgotten Disciplines

The host did not include competitions for sports such as wushu, shooting, archery, karate and gymnastics in its program — sports whose inclusion was felt to be more necessary than many other events that were held.

Japan & Korea

Why Japan sent 49 athletes and South Korea 77 athletes to these Games is a major question for observers. These are countries long considered leading powers in continental sport. Yet they finished the Games in 16th and 11th places respectively, indicating the relative importance they attached to participation.

Sports without Medals

Among the 24 sports in which the Iranian delegation competed at the third Asian Youth Olympic Games 2025 in Bahrain, golf, cycling, badminton, beach volleyball and triathlon were the disciplines where their athletes fell short of reaching the podium.

Unbeatable Chinese

China, as usual, was crowned champion of the third Asian Youth Olympic Games 2025 in Bahrain. It took part with 288 athletes in 22 sports. The invincible Chinese team won 63 gold, 49 silver and 35 bronze medals and dominated the competition.

Uzbekistan’s Runner-up Finish

Uzbekistan finished second in the medal table at the 2025 Bahrain Games, fielding 188 athletes in 21 sports and securing 37 gold, 16 silver and 28 bronze medals, placing them second overall.

Kazakhstan’s Surprise

Kazakhstan — which finished third in the Games, only two gold medals ahead of Iran — sent 244 athletes in 21 sports and achieved 24 gold, 29 silver and 40 bronze medals.

Korea’s Eleventh Place

South Korea ranked 11th in the final table with 7 gold, 7 silver and 11 bronze medals. Korea participated with 77 athletes in 11 sports.

The Mysterious Samurais

Japan did not rank higher than 16th overall in the Manama youth competition. The “mysterious” Japanese won 4 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze medals, finishing below countries such as India, Hong Kong, the UAE, North Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Bahrain and Indonesia, and ahead of Iraq, Tajikistan, Singapore and Jordan. Japan participated in Bahrain with 49 athletes across only 10 sports.

Final Ranking

At the close of the third Asian Youth Olympic Games 2025 in Bahrain, the teams finishing from first to twentieth were: China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Thailand, India, Hong Kong, UAE, North Korea, Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Indonesia, Japan, Iraq, Tajikistan, Singapore, and Jordan.