BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines from the past week:
1. 6th Asian Beach Games opens in Sanya
The 6th Asian Beach Games opened on April 22 in China's tropical resort city of Sanya, with the opening ceremony held at the seaside Yasha Park.
The 75-minute ceremony was structured around three themed segments, "Passion of Sea and Sky," "Dreams of the Deep Blue" and "Connecting the World," highlighting ocean culture and the diversity of Asia.
After being postponed twice, chiefly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sanya Games has attracted around 10,000 participants from 45 countries and regions, including more than 1,600 athletes.
2. Chinese couple win first two golds of Sanya Asian Beach Games
China made a golden start at the sixth Asian Beach Games on April 23 as husband-and-wife duo Fan Junjie and Lin Xinyu won the men's and women's aquathlon titles respectively, claiming the first two gold medals of the Games.
Fan clocked 28 minutes and 20 seconds to win the men's race as the sport debuted at the Asian Beach Games, finishing 10 seconds ahead of teammate Teng Yunfeng, while Pan Tzu-I of Chinese Taipei took bronze.
Lin continued China's dominance by winning the women's race in 31 minutes and 34 seconds.
3. Humanoid robot surpasses human half-marathon world record in Beijing
Humanoid robot named "Flash" from Shenzhen Honor Smart Technology Development Co., Ltd. claimed victory at the 2026 Beijing E-Town half-marathon with a time of 50 minutes and 26 seconds in autonomous navigation on April 19, beating the human world record of 57:20.
The men's half-marathon world record was created by Ugandan distance runner Jacob Kiplimo at the Lisbon Half Marathon in Portugal last month.
The second edition of the event, inaugurated in 2025, attracted more than 100 teams to compete in the humanoid robot category this year, including participants from Germany, France and Brazil.
On the human's side of E-Town half-marathon, China's Zhao Haijie took the men's title in one hour, seven minutes, and 47 seconds, while his compatriot Wang Qiaoxia was crowned in the women's race with 1:18:06.
4. China drawn with titleholder U.S. for 2026 Women's Basketball World Cup
China was drawn with defending champion the United States, Italy and the Czech Republic in Group D as the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup draw was held in Berlin on April 21.
The 16-team tournament, scheduled for September 4-13 in the German capital, will mark the 20th edition of the Women's World Cup and the first to feature an expanded field of 16 teams, up from 12 at the previous edition in Sydney in 2022.
China finished runner-up in the previous edition after falling to the United States in the final.
5. China to host WBSC softball Olympic Qualifier in Shaoxing
Shaoxing in east China's Zhejiang Province has been awarded the hosting right for the Women's Softball Asia/Oceania Olympic Qualifier for LA28, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) announced on April 23.
The competition will be held at the Shaoxing Baseball Softball Culture Center in Shaoxing in 2027, with the exact dates to be announced later.
Four teams from Asia and two from Oceania will compete for the only Olympic berth available through the qualifier, which is one of three continental qualifying tournaments. One berth each will also be awarded through the Europe/Africa and the Americas Olympic qualifiers.■
