ASIAN YOUTH GAMES – BAHRAIN received tremendous praise last night from top-ranking continental officials for the “great work” in the organisation – in record time – of the highly anticipated third Asian Youth Games.
The mega multi-sport event is to be held under the royal patronage of His Majesty King Hamad from October 22 to 31, with more than 5,000 athletes representing 45 National Olympic Committees from across Asia set to take part.
As preparations continue to step up for the meet, the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) hosted delegates from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) for a co-ordination commission meeting yesterday, and the kingdom has been given top marks for its efforts to date.
“I am pleased and humbled to express our satisfaction with the great work the organising committee has undertaken,” OCA co-ordination committee chairman for the Bahrain Asian Youth Games (BAYG) Tayyab Ikram said last night.
Ikram was speaking during a Press conference attended by officials from the kingdom’s sporting community, the BOC, and the OCA.
“Today we had a very successful and a very positive and impactful deliberation in our co-ordination commission meeting,” Ikram continued, later adding: “I must say that we are on the right track – we are moving in the right direction, and it was not a simple undertaking to organise these Games in a normal way.”
Bahrain was only named the Asian Youth Games’ host nation in December of last year following the sudden withdrawal of original organisers Uzbekistan, who stated that they were unable to stage the event as the construction of Tashkent’s Olympic City would not be completed on time.
This year’s Asian Youth Games is linked to the Youth Olympic Games 2026 in Dakar, Senegal, so it could not be postponed. Bahrain therefore stepped in and have since been working double time to put everything together.
“I sit on the Brisbane 2032 (Summer Olympics) co-ordination commission, which is almost seven years away, and we are already starting to do work, but Bahrain undertook not only the responsibility to deliver the Games, but deliver the Games in a very short time,” added Ikram.
“It was our pleasure today to deliberate around 30 function areas and good to report that Bahrain is ready to work. That is very positive.
“We demonstrated a great extent of satisfaction of the great work in a very short time. It is our deliberation that we not only deliver the Games and welcome the future stars of Asia, but also make it a very impactful, sustainable, and graced with a positive legacy.”
Details of the third Asian Youth Games were also presented last night during the conference, such as the various venues across the kingdom for the 24 sports, the official Oryx mascot named Shehab and the welcoming mascots named Najem and Danah, the Games’ official website bayg.bh, and the various accommodations for the visiting athletes, officials, media members, and more, which total over 40.
BOC vice-president and OCA vice-president for the third Asian Youth Games Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa expressed his delight in the positive feedback Bahrain has received from the OCA.
“We’re very honoured to have this event in Bahrain,” Shaikh Isa told the GDN. “All the preparations are ongoing, and this all comes under the instructions and directives of His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
“Bahrain has really done an excellent job in organising the event, in facilitating all that needs to be done, and we’re very happy.
“The event is close – we’re expecting over 5,000 athletes, which is a huge number, and I’m sure this is going to be a special event for Bahrain.”
BOC secretary general Faris Al Kooheji echoed Shaikh Isa’s sentiments. “The OCA were quite impressed with the progress we’ve made over a very short period of time because, usually, you need five or six years to plan a multi-sport event like the Asian Youth Games, but this has happened because of the support of the leadership we have,” Al Kooheji told the GDN. “All ministries and all government authorities are giving us their full support.
“Sport is very important in Bahrain and people feel proud to be part of it, and it really helps to have His Highness Shaikh Khalid as president of the supreme committee because he is adamant to make this a very successful event, and he is constantly pushing the team in a good way to make sure that we deliver to our best potential.”
The Asian Youth Games is highly regarded as the second-largest continental multi-sport meeting, behind only the Asian Games.
The 24 sports that will be played in this year’s edition in Bahrain are athletics, badminton, 3x3 basketball, boxing, camel racing, cycling, equestrian events, E-sports, futsal, golf, handball, jiu-jitsu, judo, kabaddi, mixed martial arts, Muay, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, teqball, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling.
Bahrain Jiu-Jitsu Federation president and Ju-Jitsu Asian Union first vice-president Redha Monfaredi highlighted that the kingdom’s jiu-jitsu community, which includes athletes who are set to fly the Bahrain flag at home in the Games, are greatly looking forward to competing against the continent’s best.
“We are very excited and we are preparing our team at the youth division,” Monfaredi told the GDN. “Obviously, it’s not going to be an easy step – it’s going to be very challenging as the Asian continent has superpowers in jiu-jitsu like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan, so it’s a very strong region – but Bahrain is also a powerhouse and we have proven that many times. Hopefully we’re going to be on the podium.”
Monfaredi added: “Bahrain is showing as usual that we are capable of hosting major events internationally. The Asian Youth Games is a significant sports event – it is the Olympics of Asia with 24 different sports competing here and more than 5,000 athletes – so Bahrain is on the map of the international community, showing it is a significant powerhouse in sports.”
Also among those present at last night’s Press conference were OCA vice-president West Asia Dr Thani Al Kuwari, OCA deputy director general Vinod Kumar Tiwari, and BAYG executive committee president Yusuf Duaij Muhoorfi.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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