Sanya enters 100-day countdown to Asian Beach Games

The sixth Asian Beach Games will be held in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province, from April 22 to 30, 2026, with preparations entering the final 100-day countdown, officials said Monday at a press conference.

Li Jing, deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China, said that this will be the second time for China to host the Asian Beach Games, following Haiyang in east China's Shandong Province in 2012.

At the press conference, Li elaborated on the preparations for this highly-anticipated sports event.

"The Games features 14 sports, 15 disciplines and 63 events, including Olympic and Asian Games staples such as swimming and sailing, as well as emerging sports including teqball and beach kabaddi. So far, competition venues have been finalized and will be organized into eight venue clusters," Li said.

"In terms of registration, the relevant work is progressing smoothly. A total of 3,798 athletes from 45 Asian countries and regions have completed initial registration. The second round of registration takes place from Jan 10 to Feb 10. Test events for sports including sailing, beach volleyball, teqball and aquathlon will begin from Jan 16 to assess venue operations, equipment, logistical support and emergency response systems," he continued.

Li also detailed the Chinese delegation's preparations.

"Regarding national team preparations, the Chinese delegation is expected to send about 190 athletes to compete in 13 sports and 61 events, excluding beach kabaddi. Events such as beach volleyball, climbing, 3x3 basketball, swimming and sailing will be opportunities in preparation for the Los Angeles Olympics. The Games will play an important role in discovering talent, training teams and testing preparation results. China aims to sustain strong performances in Asian Games gold-medal sports such as dragon boat racing, beach athletics and beach handball, while encouraging broader participation in emerging sports like jujitsu and teqball to explore beneficial models for the diversified development of sports," he said.

The sports event is the first major international multi-sport competition held after the island-wide special customs operation of the Hainan Free Trade Port. It bears the important mission of showcasing the achievements of the Free Trade Port and consolidating the cultural foundation for jointly building an Asian community with a shared future.

Sanya enters 100-day countdown to Asian Beach Games

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight