Members of the delegation of China take part in the opening ceremony of the 6th Asian Beach Games in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province, on April 22, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of the organizing committee

The sixth Asian Beach Games officially opened on Wednesday evening in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province, marking the return of the continental beach sports event after a decade-long hiatus.

Running until April 30, the Games will see around 1,790 athletes from 45 national and regional Olympic committees competing in 14 sports and 62 medal events at venues along Sanya's coastline. 

The event is the second time China has hosted the Asian Beach Games, following the 2012 edition in Haiyang, East China's Shandong Province, and represents one of the largest international sporting events staged in Hainan in recent years.

The opening ceremony was staged at a seaside ring theater venue overlooking the South China Sea, offering a scenic backdrop that reflects the festive atmosphere of beach sports. 

Competitions, including beach athletics, sailing, aquathlon, beach volleyball and beach kabaddi, will be held at multiple coastal venues across Sanya, turning the tropical resort city into a hub for sand and sea sports over the coming week.

Among the sports attracting attention is aquathlon, a combined swimming and running event, which will make its debut at the Asian Beach Games. The discipline highlights the growing diversity of beach and coastal sports across Asia.

Chinese teams across several disciplines have been preparing for the competition with high expectations as the host nation seeks to make a strong impression in front of home supporters.

Li Yiming, deputy leader of China's national triathlon team, said Wednesday that the squad had been undergoing long-term centralized training to prepare for the aquathlon events at the Games, adding that China's lineup includes several of the country's leading triathletes.

"Lin Xinyu competed at the Paris Olympics and achieved the best result in China's history in the women's triathlon at the Games, while Fan Junjie was the men's individual champion of the National Games last year. They are both among China's top triathletes," he said.

According to Li, the team has incorporated the swim-run format of aquathlon into its regular training program in preparation for the event.

"The national triathlon team has long remained in a centralized training system, and for this edition of the Asian Beach Games we have specifically included swim-run combination sessions in our daily training," he said.

"We trained for a long time in Wenchang, Hainan, in March. Returning to Hainan for competition feels both exciting and familiar."

In beach athletics, China is also using the Games as an opportunity to develop its next generation of athletes.

Xu Zhouzheng, a coach with China's beach athletics team, said the delegation has brought a group of promising young competitors to gain international experience.

"This competition is mainly an opportunity to train newcomers and strengthen areas where we have been relatively weaker in the men's events," Xu said while leading a training session at the Phoenix Island competition venue. "Our preparation has been quite thorough. Although the athletes here are not necessarily our absolute main lineup, they remain very competitive."

Xu said the team hopes to use the event to evaluate the performances of young athletes on the international stage.

"As a young team competing on home soil, our goal is to give our best and challenge others for the championship," he said.

Beyond the competition itself, the Asian Beach Games have also become an important platform for promoting coastal sports across the region.

Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, president of the Asian Athletics Association, said China's commitment to sports development has helped raise the standard of events across Asia.

"There is no doubt that China delivers excellence in everything it does," he said. "You will always find China committed to supporting and promoting the development of various sports."

Al Hamad noted that the Games provide an opportunity to explore the future growth of beach athletic events within the Asian sports program.

"This is a special beach athletics competition," he said. "I am here to study the event itself, and our objective is to move this study forward quickly, with the possibility of adding more events in the future."

For the host city, the Games represent more than a sporting event. 

The Games are the first major international sporting event held on the island since the launch of island-wide special customs operations in December.

With venues stretching across Sanya's beaches and waterfront districts, the competition is also intended to showcase the island's tourism appeal.