India is gearing up to leave a strong impression at the 3rd Asian Youth Games, which will run in Bahrain from October 22‑31. A delegation of 312 people heads to the Kingdom, with 222 young athletes competing in 21 sports and 90 coaches, support staff, and officials traveling with them.
The team includes 31 runners, 14 boxers, 28 kabaddi players, 16 handballers, and 10 athletes each in taekwondo, wrestling, and weightlifting. Women will make the largest female squad, especially in athletics and handball, a sign of the growing talent of young Indian women athletes. Former Olympic wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt will serve as the country’s Chef de Mission.
Half of the squad—119 women and 103 men—has come up through India’s flagship programmes such as Khelo India, the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), and National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs). The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has fully funded the trip, while the Sports Authority of India (SAI) is paying for travel, accommodation, insurance and ceremonial kits.
Athletes will take part in Olympic‑standard events like athletics, swimming, badminton, boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, and judo, plus emerging sports such as kurash, pencak silat, teqball, and camel racing. SAI’s medical and physiotherapy teams will be on hand 24/7, and the National Anti‑Doping Agency (NADA) will conduct mandatory testing before departure to keep the competition fair.
The 2025 Asian Youth Games will host about 4,000 athletes from 45 countries, featuring 259 disciplines across 26 sports. It will also serve as the Asian qualifying event for the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics in Dakar, Senegal. This edition marks the first time the Games return since 2013, offering Indian youth a fresh chance to shine on a continental stage.
Source: ianslive
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