The event programme mirrored that of the previous IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics, with the exception of a boy's decathlon, rather than the octathlon.

The event was established following the 78th council meeting of the Asian Athletics Association in March 2014.

The body's president Dahlan Jumaan al-Hamad cited the creation of the championships as a way of boosting the grassroots-level development of the sport in Asia and raise the importance of continental level competition among the region's countries.

[2][3] The highest level performance at the competition came from Chinese girls' javelin thrower Yu Yuzhen, whose winning throw of 61.97 m (203 ft 3+3⁄4 in) was the world youth best for the 500-gramme youth implement.

[2] An anti-doping outreach and sports ethics programme was held in conjunction with the competition, with the achievements of Liu Xiang and Koji Murofushi being held up as examples of Olympic champions from Asia who promoted an anti-doping culture.