Team China race to opening golds at Asian Beach Games in Sanya

China kicked off the sixth Asian Beach Games with a dazzling display of athleticism, as husband-and-wife duo Fan Junjie and Lin Xinyu captured the first gold medals of the tournament in the aquathlon.  

This year marks the debut of the aquathlon, which consists of a 2.5-kilometer run, a 1-kilometer swim, and another 2.5-kilometer run. Fan completed the men's race in a time of 28 minutes and 20 seconds, finishing 10 seconds ahead of teammate Teng Yunfeng, while Pan Tzu-I of Chinese Taipei earned the bronze. 

Lin maintained China's momentum in the women's event, crossing the finish line in 31 minutes and 34 seconds. Following her were Cambodia's Margot Morokot Garabedian, who claimed silver, and China's Lu Meiyi, who secured bronze.

In addition to their aquathlon successes, China's women's beach handball team launched their campaign in style, achieving two emphatic victories over Mongolia and Sri Lanka. In the midday opener, Mongolia struck first with an acrobatic 360-degree spin shot, initially taking a 2-0 lead. 

However, China's rising stars, Pang Jiaye, Liu Chenmeng, and Li Weiyu, all born in 2008, responded vigorously, igniting a series of spectacular goals to swing momentum. The first half ended at 18-6 in China's favor. The second half saw a commanding 10-0 run, followed by an astounding 14-0 display, leading to a final score of 30-6 and a 2-0 set victory.

China continued to shine later in the evening, dominating Sri Lanka with yet another formidable performance, winning 26-8 and 20-6, and securing an unbeaten start in the group stage.

In the jiu-jitsu, the opening day saw three gold medals awarded, with the United Arab Emirates taking two titles. Khaled Al Shehhi emerged victorious in the men's -62kg category, while Asma Al Hosani triumphed in the women's -52kg event. The Philippines claimed the remaining gold, with Alexandria Luz Enriquez defeating Republic of Korea's Lee Yeon-ji in the women's -63kg final.

In beach kabaddi, Iran's men's team pulled off an upset over defending champion Pakistan, winning 38-28, while title favorite India advanced to the women's semifinals with a victory against Sri Lanka.