BAHRAIN continues to step up its nation-wide preparations for the highly anticipated third Asian Youth Games, set to be hosted by the kingdom from October 22 to 31.
The mega multi-sport event will be held under the royal patronage of His Majesty King Hamad, and it will be bringing together thousands of aspiring athletes – both boys and girls aged 14 to 18 – representing an expected 45 countries from across the continent.
The Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) announced yesterday the various locations that will be staging the more than 20 sports during the event.
They include Isa Sports City in Riffa, Exhibition World Bahrain (EWB) in Sakhir, Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town, the Military Sports Union and The Royal Golf Club in Riffa, Sama Bay in Muharraq, the Bahrain Handball Federation (BHF) Arena in Umm Al Hassam, and the Bahrain Royal Endurance Village and Nasser bin Hamad Loop, both of which are in the Zallaq area, which will also be hosting another event.
At Isa Sports City, which features the National Stadium, three indoor sports halls, and the Bahrain Football Association facilities, the sports of athletics, futsal, badminton, kabaddi, 3x3 basketball, and volleyball will be held.
EWB will host events in weightlifting, teqball, judo, taekwondo, boxing, mixed martial arts, jiu-jitsu, Muay, freestyle wrestling, table tennis, and E-sports; while Khalifa Sports City will stage futsal and swimming.
The Military Sports Union will be where equestrian endurance events will take place, while at Sama Bay will be beach wrestling and beach volleyball.
The BHF Arena will be the venue for handball and The Royal Golf Club for golf, while the Bahrain Royal Endurance Village will host camel racing and the Nasser bin Hamad Loop will hold road cycling. Zallaq will also be the venue for the sport of triathlon.
The Asian Youth Games is highly regarded as the second-largest multi-sport meeting in the continent, surpassed only by the Asian Games at the senior level.
This upcoming edition is linked to the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal in 2026. At the upcoming meeting in Bahrain, boys and girls aged 14 to 17 years old will be competing in the sports that are included in the competition programme of the Youth Olympic Games. For the sports that are not in Dakar, athletes can be up to 18 years old.
Bahrain’s hosting of the third Asian Youth Games follows the massive success of the ISF Gymnasiade Bahrain 2024, held last October. The event, held in co-operation with the International School Sport Federation (ISF), featured more than 5,000 participants, including 4,000 athletes, from more than 80 countries.
The first edition of the Asian Youth Games was held in 2009 in Singapore with 43 nations competing in nine sports. The second edition was in Nanjing, China in 2013 with 45 countries participating in 16 sports. Succeeding editions in 2017 and 2021 were cancelled, and the stage is now set for the event to be held in Bahrain.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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