Manama, Bahrain, October 20, 2025: With nearly half the squad competing overseas for the first time, Malaysia’s contingent at the 3rd Asian Youth Games is more about getting exposure to foreign competition than about winning medals, says Chef de Mission Farah Ann Abdul Hadi.
Malaysia is fielding 114 athletes – 48 girls and 66 boys – in 17 sports at the Bahrain AYG which officially gets underway on Wednesday, October 22.
“Our main focus is on exposing these young athletes to international competition. And this competition will also serve as a yardstick for qualification for the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar next year,” says Farah Ann.
“It is our largest youth contingent to ever leave our shores underlining our ambition to give these athletes their initial experience of what it feels like to take part in a multi-sport event of this size,” Farah Ann added.
The Malaysian CDM herself looks as if she would fit right in with the athletes. A gymnast, she made her mark at the Southeast Asian Games winning a total of 12 medals – 7 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze – across four games, 2011, 2015, 2017, and 2019.
Her illustrious career reached the pinnacle when she qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, making her only the fourth Malaysian gymnast to compete on the Olympic stage.
The rawness of this squad is evidenced by the fact that just around 30 per cent are from national teams. The rest are from the State level.
“At the last Asian Youth Games, 2013 Nanjing, Malaysia won 17 medals including four gold medals of which three came in squash. Unfortunately squash is not a sport in these games so we will have to look elsewhere,” reveals Farah Ann
Malaysia is pinning their hopes on equestrian and taekwondo. A nine-strong equestrian team will be making a strong challenge in show jumping and the endurance events. They have even brought their own horses.
“We also have a young athlete in taekwondo who won a silver medal this year at the World Junior Championships,” Farah Ann pointed out.
With Malaysia also focusing on the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh next month and the SEA Games in Bangkok later in December, a number of athletes were earmarked solely for these assignments, paving the way for younger talent.
“We hope to unearth fresh talent in Bahrain,” Farah Ann added.