New Delhi: With 22 medals including 11 gold, Bahrain finished top among Arab countries at the just concluded 2026 Asian Games. The country came 10th in the final medal tally. What’s eye-catching is the fact that as many as 19 of them were clinched by foreign-born athletes, primarily from Africa, in individual events.
Their home countries range from Kenya, Ethiopia to Nigeria, Egypt, and Sudan. A case in point is the Ethiopia-born Birhanu Balew who successfully defended his titles by winning gold medals in the men’s 5000m and 10,000m events at the recent 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
The long-distance runner finalised his transfer of sporting allegiance to represent Bahrain in 2014, the year when he got Bahrain citizenship. He was cleared to play for Bahrain in international games starting from 8th October 2015, according to the World Athletics record.
Another such athlete is Kenya-born Winfred Yavi, who won a record three individual gold medals in women’s 10,000m, women’s 3,000m steeplechase, and women’s 5,000 m.
Yavi had changed her sporting allegiance when she was a teenager. She was eligible to represent Bahrain from 19 August 2016, according to World Athletics .
In a 2023 interview to The Star, the Kenyan-born Olympic record holder conceded that she opted for Bahrain after she was unable to find a place in the home team owing to stiff competition. She further added that she has gotten Bahraini nationality.
"I didn't get the opportunity to represent Kenya," says the Women's 3000m Steeplechase Paris Olympic gold medalist, Winfred Mutile Yavi explaining her decision to run for Bahrain instead of Kenya. #Olympics pic.twitter.com/M98cSOXFEX
— Ole Teya (@TeyaKevin) August 6, 2024
Similarly, middle-distance runner Nelly Korir won gold and silver in 1500 m and 800 m respectively. According to the World Athletics Records, she was representing Kenya until 31 March 2017 and later cleared to represent Bahrain starting from 13 August 2021.
Other such cases include runners Salwa Naser (gold in women’s 400m) and Shitaye Habte (gold in women’s marathon). Naser was born in Anambra State, Nigeria, but moved to Bahrain at 14 seeking opportunities to further her running career, the BBC reported. Habte was born in Ethiopia.
But it is not just from Africa. Swimmer Mikhail Arkhangelskiy (gold in men’s 50 butterfly) and MMA fighter Diana Pogosian (silver in the women under-54kg category) swapped their allegiance from Russia to Bahrain.
Arkhangelskiy was born to political refugees who fled Russia for France. “If I go back to Russia, I’ll be arrested because my family are political opponents,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
This practice is not new in international sport, and both Bahrain as well as Qatar over the years have had such sportspersons in their contingents in international multi-sport events.
Qatar ended with 18 medals including 6 gold. Its overall standing was 14th in the medal tally. The West Asian country will be hosting the next edition of the Asian Games in Doha in 2030.
Egypt-born Bassem Hemeida won gold and silver in men’s 400m hurdle and 4x400m relay, respectively. His Asian Games athlete profile says that he decided to represent Qatar in 2016.
陸上競技 男子400mハードル！🔥
金メダルのHEMEIDA Bassem選手(カタール)が見せた圧巻のラストスパート！！🥇
銀メダルの後藤大樹選手(日本)は、この種目において国内史上最年少で表彰台に上りました👏#アジア競技大会 #愛知名古屋2026 pic.twitter.com/2ilgOzvzTx
— 第20回アジア競技大会(2026/愛知・名古屋) (@AsianGames_2026) October 1, 2026
Similarly, Sudan-born Abubanker Haydar Abdalla got a bronze in men’s 800m. The middle-distance runner had previously won bronze at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
In wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestler Shahin Badaghimofrad made history by winning Qatar’s first-ever gold medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships.
The United World Wrestling report describes Badaghimofrad as “Iranian-born” and that he was competing for Iran when he first appeared at the Asian Championships. It adds that he changed his allegiance after 2023 and made his debut for Qatar in February 2025.
The other such athlete is middle-distance runner Zakaria Ibrahim Elahlaami (bronze in the men’s 3000m steeplechase), who became eligible to represent Qatar in January 2024.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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