Yemen at Asian Games 2026: A Program Sustained by Solidarity Funding
Running on a National Olympic Committee budget of roughly $370,000 a year, almost entirely from outside funding, Yemen heads into 2026 still chasing its first gold or silver medal.
Yemen’s Asian Games Track Record
Yemen has won two bronze medals across its Asian Games history, most recently at the 2006 Doha Games, though the specific sport and athlete behind that medal could not be independently verified. Yemen went medal-less at both the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games (31 competitors across athletics, boxing, judo, karate, taekwondo, wushu, and wrestling) and the 2022/23 Hangzhou Games, where wushu/sanda athlete Tharwt Mahyoub Ali Naji Alsendi was eliminated in the round of 16.
| Edition | Rank | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Jakarta-Palembang | Unranked | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022/23 Hangzhou | Unranked | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Yemen at the 2018 Asian Games, Yemen at the 2022 Asian Games, and Yemen at the Asian Games, Wikipedia. All-time rank of 43rd per the same source.
Yemen’s Strongest Sports
No single sport shows a clear pattern of Asian Games success for Yemen, given its sparse two-medal history. The country has most consistently fielded athletes in judo, taekwondo, wrestling, boxing, athletics, and wushu. Individually, Yemen has had more international visibility through shooter Yasameen Al-Raimi, a two-time Olympian, and judoka Ahmed Ayash, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, than through actual Asian Games medal success.
Yemen’s Official Squads by Sport
No official Yemen Olympic Committee roster for the 2026 Asian Games has been published as of this writing.
Confirmed via official federation/media sources
| Sport | Key Named Athletes | Status |
|---|---|---|
| No individually named 2026 Asian Games athletes have been officially confirmed for Yemen. | ||
Reported but not yet formally finalized
| Sport | Notes |
|---|---|
| Shooting | Yasameen Al-Raimi, a two-time Olympian in 10m air pistol, is Yemen’s most internationally visible recent athlete, though her 2026 Asian Games selection has not been confirmed |
| Judo | Hesham Makabr, a Paris 2024 Olympian, has no confirmed 2026 Asian Games selection but is a plausible contender |
Team confirmed, no roster yet / not found
| Sports |
|---|
| Taekwondo, Wrestling, Boxing, Athletics, Wushu |
Storylines to Watch
A program built on solidarity funding: Yemen’s National Olympic Committee runs almost entirely on outside IOC support amid an ongoing civil war, a stark institutional backdrop to its 2026 preparations.
Still chasing a first gold or silver: both of Yemen’s Asian Games medals have been bronze, leaving the country still in search of its first gold or silver in Asian Games history.
Yasameen Al-Raimi’s continued presence: a two-time Olympic shooter who trains without access to practice ammunition in Yemen, she remains the country’s most visible current athlete heading toward 2026.