TEHRAN - The Iranian delegation at the 2025 Asian Youth Games in Bahrain made a strong and meaningful impression. With a large contingent competing in 22 sports, the young athletes fulfilled the motto “Hope of Iran” by delivering significant achievements, especially in youth and women’s sports.

Their 4th-place finish and 22 gold medals reflect both the depth of talent and the success of development strategies.

From Oct. 22 to 31, the third edition of the Asian Youth Games took place in Manama, Bahrain. This event brought together young athletes from across Asia to compete in 24 sports and around 249 events.

Iran’s motto fulfilled

For the Iranian delegation, this was a major opportunity to showcase its upcoming talent and to further its ambitions on the continental and global stage.

In the lead-up to the Games, the National Olympic Committee of Iran (NOC) and the Iranian Ministry of Sports convened meetings with national federations to map out strategy, emphasizing anti-doping, youth development, and broader goals tied to future Games (such as the 2026 Asian Games and the 2028 Olympics).

Iran’s motto in the Games was “Hope of Iran”— signaling both ambition and the symbolic role youth athletes would play.

The Iranian delegation competed in the competition with over 230 athletes across 22 disciplines. The scale of participation highlighted that Iran was not only aiming for medals, but also experience and development of its youth pipeline.

Iran finished fourth overall in the medal standings, behind powerhouses such as China, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Women’s sport advancement

Iranian girls stole the show in the Games. The handball team won a historic gold medal in this edition. Also, futsal and volleyball teams secured two gold medal and it shows how strong the Iranian women are.  
Success in girls’ handball, futsal, volleyball reflects growing strength in female youth sport in Iran – an encouraging trend for gender inclusion in sport.

Iran also claimed golds in sports like taekwondo (three golds), swimming (two golds), wrestling (three golds), and Muay Thai (four golds) among others.

This performance has several implications for Iran’s youth sport development. With youth athletes delivering success, Iran is reinforcing its investment in younger age categories, which is crucial for long-term international competitiveness.

Although 22 golds is impressive, there remains a gap to the leading nation (China had 60+ golds) which highlights room for growth.