Manama, Bahrain, October 30, 2025: A golden run from Iranian girls in a number of team sports at the 3rd Asian Youth Games in Bahrain was greeted with joy by Dr. Mahdi Alinejad, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Thursday, October 30.
The Iranian girls won landmark gold medals in futsal, handball and volleyball, underpinning the country’s growing youth potential in team sports.
“This is absolutely fantastic, a historic achievement for women’s sports in Iran,” said Dr. Alinejad. “It is the first time that we have sent so many females to a multi-sports event and this decision has been justified by their performance. We are all very happy with the outcome.”
Iran’s athlete delegation of 238 – the third largest behind Thailand and China – includes 101 girls, and they have done their fair share by winning 10 of the 18 gold medals the country has won entering the final day of competition.
“We are pleased with our overall performance. Finishing in the top five in the medal standings is a major achievement and our team can be proud of their efforts,” Dr. Alinejad said.
Apart from dominating team sports, Iran’s girls also won gold medals in MMA (two), Muay Thai (two), taekwondo (two), and judo (one).
The Iranian girls’ futsal team secured the gold medal after a penalty shootout victory over the powerful Chinese team.
In volleyball, the girl’s defeated Indonesia in the final to win the gold. Iran scored a 3-2 victory – 28-26, 20-25, 18-25, 25-17, 16-14.
In handball, Iran emerged unbeaten in the round-robin format, winning all six matches to top the group and grab gold. Narrow wins over China, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan set the tone early in the competition, and they finished it off strongly with wins over Thailand, India, and Hong Kong, China.
This is the first ever gold medal won by Iranian handball players at the Asian Games, at both youth and senior level.
Iran’s Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was quoted by local media as saying: Once again, the daughters of Iran proved that there are no limits to their pursuit of glory.”
