Ranjana Yadav has gotten India its first-ever medal in athletics at the 2025 Asian Youth Games in Manama, Bahrain. On Thursday, October 23, 2025, she won silver in the girls’ 5000 m race walk with a timing of 24:25.88 at the Bahrain National Stadium. China’s Liu Shiyi won the gold medal after finishing with a timing of 24:15.27. Meanwhile, Korea’s Jeong Chaeyeon bagged the bronze medal at the event after finishing her performance in the timing of 25:26.93s.
Uzbekistan is currently leading the medals table, while India is in no. 6. Indonesia is in no. 2, followed by the Philippines in no. 3, the Islamic Republic of Iran in no. 4, and Kyrgyzstan in no. 5.
Across 21 sports, a total of 222 Indian athletes, including 119 women and 103 men, are competing at the event. The participation saw 31 Indian athletes in athletics, 28 in kabaddi, 16 in handball, 14 in boxing, and 10 each in taekwondo, wrestling, and weightlifting. Worldwide, athletes from across 45 national federations are competing for 1,677 medals, including 505 gold, 503 silver, and 669 bronze.
The event has returned after a 12-year hiatus, following the 2013 edition held in Nanjing, China. The current edition is being held in Bahrain from October 19 to 31. In the 2013 edition, India won 14 medals, including three golds, four silvers, and seven bronzes.
The inaugural edition held in Singapore back in 2009 saw India ending with 11 medals: five gold, three silver, and three bronze.
The 2025 Asian Youth Games is a qualification process for the 2026 Youth Olympics to be held in Dakar, Senegal.
Indian medal winners at the Asian Youth Games 2025
So far in the tournament, India has won seven medals that includes one gold, two silvers, and four bronze titles.
15-year-old Khushi won India’s first medal with a bronze medal finish in the girls’ 70 kg kurash event. Kanishka Bidhuri also added silver in girls’ 52 kg, and Arvind got the bronze medal in boys’ 83 kg in kurash.
In Taekwondo, the Indian duo of Shivanshu Patel and Yashwini Singh won bronze in mixed pairs recognized Poomsae, while Debasish Das also added a bronze in the boys’ individual recognized Poomsae event.
Besides athletics, the Indian girls’ kabaddi team also got India’s first-ever gold medal in the tournament after defeating the Islamic Republic of Iran in the finals game.
