Sanya, a tropical city famed for its picturesque seaside views, wrapped up the 6th Asian Beach Games (ABG) recently with broad participation from Asian athletes and exhilarating, eye-catching contests.
Sitting in the south China's island province of Hainan, the city where elite Asian athletes gathered from April 22 to 30, witnessed a grand "reunion" of delegations from all the Asian nations and regions.
Photo taken on April 22, 2026 shows the firework performance during the opening ceremony of the 6th Asian Beach Games in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Li Ga)
Such a splendid sports event, in which the Iranian delegation managed to arrive in Sanya after overcoming notable difficulties, attested once again to the renewed Asian story of friendship, endeavor and development.
Presenting high-level skills during the games, Iranian athletes were also aspiring to deliver a message that the most important value of sports lies in peace and friendship, noted Mahdi Alinejad, secretary general of the Iranian National Olympic Committee.
While regarding the event as a grand gathering of the Asian Olympic family, Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, president of Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), said the 6th ABG established a new benchmark for ABG preparation.
From 2018 when Sanya was approved to hold the games to 2026, preparations for the event such as venue construction, contest organization, volunteer services and cultural showcases were always in steady progress despite pandemic-caused postponements.
From April 22 to 30, Sanya delivered a splendid sports event, attributable not only to its more convenient flow of people and goods under Hainan Free Trade Port's island-wide special customs operations, but also to its orderly and meticulous preparation.
Sanya pursued a harmonious city-contest coexistence through renovating or renting existing local sports venues, utilizing new energy vehicles for contest transport, and using reusable materials for related office sheds.
Via such moves, six contest venue clusters lined up along the coastlines of Sanya Bay, forming a landscape where contests of the games and urban skyline intertwined to capture attention of both athletes and tourists.
During the games, humanoid robots and other advanced technologies were adopted to serve the games. Apart from the 4,680 volunteers, diverse cultural performances and exhibitions were staged to showcase local charm.
As Song Luzeng, vice president of OCA said, Sanya boasts natural advantages in bolstering water and beach sports and the integrated development of culture, sports and tourism thanks to its seaside resources and Hainan Free Trade Port's preferential policies.
(Edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
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