Asian Youth Games:
Record medal haul sees Iran stand fourth in overall table
Iran enjoyed its best medal count in three editions of the Asian Youth Games, capturing 24 golds, 29 silvers, and 40 bronzes in Bahrain 2025.
The impressive haul saw the Iranian delegation finish fourth in the overall standings of the multi-sport event.
Iran had bagged six medals – including a single gold – at the inaugural edition in Singapore 2009, before settling for six silvers and double bronzes four years later in Nanjing, China.
China dominated the table in Bahrain with 147 medals, including a remarkable 63 golds, followed by Uzbekistan (37 golds) and Kazakhstan (24 golds), with Thailand in fifth place on 15 gold medals.
Iranian weightlifter Hossein Yazdani rounded off the country’s decent campaign by grabbing the gold in the boys’ +94kg division on Thursday.
A world youth champion in May, Yazdani posted a 201kg effort to claim the ultimate prize in the clean & jerk, having won the snatch bronze with a 151kg lift.
There was further success for Iran’s ‘Ambassadors of Hope’ on the final day of the Games.
Mohammad-Mahdi Gholami collected his second swimming gold at Khalifa Sports City, clocking 2:01.75 minutes in the final to beat India’s Tirthank Pegu (+0.81) and Wang Yi Shun of Hong Kong (+1.70) to the top spot in the boys' 200m butterfly showdown.
In beach wrestling, meanwhile, Sina Shokouhi (70kg) and Touraj Khodaei (80kg) claimed gold in their respective weight classes, alongside silver medals for Amir-Ali Domirkolaei (60kg) and Mohammad-Mahdi Fotouhi (90kg).
The pinnacle of the final day for the Iranians perhaps came in the girls’ futsal showdown, where the country’s under-17 team defeated China 3-2 in the shootout to win a sensational gold medal.
The two sides played to a goalless stalemate at the Khalifa Sports City Hall, before Iranian goalkeeper Fatemeh Shokrani denied Lian Yutong in the penalties, while Ren Yunuo and Tong Wenjing also missed their efforts.
The Iranian boys’ team, however, had to settle for silver after being stunned 2-1 by Afghanistan in the final later on Thursday.
Abbas Heidari and Ali Ahmadi found the net for Afghanistan either side of halftime before Hossein-Reza Yousefi pulled one back for Ali Sanei’s side three minutes after the break.
A chaotic ending to the game saw four players – including Yousefi and his teammates Mohammad-Ali Shekarchi and Amirhossein Abdolrazzaqi – receive their marching orders for being involved in a physical altercation with five minutes left on the clock.
Glittering girls
Female contestants were instrumental to Iran's medal-laden run at the Games, securing 29 of the country's medals through history-making achievements across different sporting events.
While the Iranian girls’ team walked away with the ultimate prize in the volleyball, handball, and futsal competitions, Zeinab Shahriari bagged a couple of golds in the individual and mixed pair recognized poomsae events.
Baran Jani and Rozhan Behnami added double girls’ combat golds to Iran’s medal count in muaythai, with Vania Fathalipour and Tiam Dehpahlevan striking in mixed martial arts.
Mahsa Shakibai, meanwhile, made history by winning a maiden women’s gold for Iran at an international judo event – thanks to a victory over Kazakhstan’s Alua Baltabay in the -48kg final.
Iranian girls also collected fiver silvers and 15 bronze medals.