Kuwait City, Kuwait, November 3, 2025: The Bahrain Asian Youth Games drew to a spectacular close on Friday marking an action-packed year for Asian sport with even more to come in 2026 as the continent prepares for three more thrilling Games including the Aich-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games. The Bahrain Asian Youth Games was one of two Games held in 2025 with the unforgettable Harbin Asian Winter Games taking place on 7-14 February 2025. Over 4,000 young athletes from all 45 Asian NOCs competed in Bahrain showcasing the strength of sport in the continent and its promising future. Earlier in the year, 1,230 of the world’s best Asian winter athletes gathered in Harbin for an incredible showcase of winter sport and its significant development in Asian in recent years.

Next year will see Asia’s flagship event – the Asian Games – take place in Aich-Nagoya with 13,000 of the continent’s best athletes battling it out for Asian titles on 19 September – 4 October 2026. On 22-30 April 2026 Sanya, China will host 4,000 athletes for the Asian Beach Games while Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will host another 4,000 athletes competing in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG). In total, more than 26,000 athletes will compete across the three Games in 2026 reflecting the size and strength of Asian sport.

 OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam said “Asia is the world’s most populous continent; rich in its diversity of language, culture and religion, but we are united through our love of sport. Since the birth of the Asian Games in Manila, Philippines in 1913, our Games have brought our diverse nations together through peaceful competition and showcased the best of Asian sports. “We saw that in action this year with the fantastic Asian Winter Games and Asian Youth Games and we will do so again next year across our three Games in 2026.

“We are grateful for the excellent collaboration we enjoy with NOCs, Organising Committees and International Federations (IFs) in delivering these events. We have worked hard to reduce complexity of the Games and ensure that we take a flexible approach to management and operations that can adapt to the specific contexts of the host countries. It is only through this collaboration we are able to host five world-class Games, involving more than 26,000 athletes, and engaging 103 IFs and Asian Federations, in just two years.”