Manama, Bahrain, October 31, 2025: Acting President of the Olympic Council of Asia, Timothy Fok, applauded Bahrain for putting on a remarkable event as the curtain fell on a successful 3rd Asian Youth Games on Friday, October 31.
Fok reminded the audience at a brief Closing Ceremony held at Khalifa Sports City, that the young athletes from 45 National Olympic Committees across Asia could in the future point to Bahrain as the place where their journey to stardom started.
“We have enjoyed a superb spectacle, one which will play a key role in the development of our athletes who can one day say ‘It all began for me in Bahrain,” Fok noted.
“The OCA and all 44 visiting National Olympic Committee from across Asia will leave with cherished memories to last a lifetime. Bahrain, you have done us proud,” Fok extolled.
The Asian Youth Games is the second major event held under the auspices of the OCA this year, following the Harbin Asian Winter Games in February.
A total of 4,051 athletes representing all 45 Asian NOCs participated in the 14 days of competition with powerhouse China emerging at the top of the medal standings.
Yousif Duaij, Chairman of the Bahrain Asian Youth Games Organising Committee, hoped the legacy of these games would go beyond the competition. He said: “We want these Games to inspire a generation, and if these Games strengthen the bonds between nations and ignite ambition in youth, then we will have succeeded.”
A highlight of the closing ceremony was the OCA flag being passed from Bahrain to the next hosting city, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2029.
His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Chairman of the General Sports Authority, and President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, handed over the flag to the OCA’s Acting President Timothy Fok which was then passed to Otabek Umarov, OCA Vice President for Central Asia.
