India Creates History with Record 48 Medals at Asian Youth Games 2025
India made history at the Asian Youth Games 2025 by winning a record 48 medals — including 13 gold, 18 silver, and 17 bronze — marking the country’s best-ever performance at the continental event held in Manama, Bahrain.
This year’s Games returned after a 12-year gap and witnessed India’s young athletes putting up an extraordinary display across multiple sports. A total of 222 Indian athletes — 119 women and 103 men — participated in the event.
India’s medal journey began with Khushi, who won the nation’s first medal — a bronze — in the girls’ 70kg kurash event. Soon after, Ranjana Yadav added a silver in the girls’ 5000m race walk. The Indian girls’ kabaddi team brought home the first gold medal of the competition after a dominant win over Iran in the final.
In weightlifting, Priteesmita Bhoi created a world youth record in the girls’ 44kg clean and jerk, giving India its first individual gold of the Games. On the final day, Indian athletes claimed 15 medals, including seven golds, with boxers securing four of them and beach wrestlers adding three more.
The athletics contingent was India’s largest, with 31 participants, followed by kabaddi (28), handball (16), and boxing (14). Ten athletes each represented India in taekwondo, wrestling, and weightlifting.
The 2025 edition marked a remarkable improvement from previous outings — India had won 14 medals in 2013 and 11 medals in 2009. This year’s result places India among the top-performing nations at the event.
Apart from the medals, the Asian Youth Games 2025 also served as a qualification event for the 2026 Youth Olympics in Dakar, Senegal. Athletes from 45 national federations competed for 1,677 medals — 505 gold, 503 silver, and 669 bronze.
With such an outstanding performance, India’s young talents have not only made the nation proud but also raised hopes for a bright future in global sports.
