On the flight from Shanghai to the resort metropolis of Sanya, I discovered myself wrestling with a little bit of an inner debate. Was I truly wanting ahead to the postcard-perfect solar, surf, and sand of Hainan Island, or was I actually prepared for the depth of the primary Asian Seashore Video games I had ever coated?
Because the plane banked for its touchdown trajectory previous the bay, the view beneath was, frankly, misleading. Clusters of personal yachts lined the piers like costly toys, exuding that polished, untouchable aura of a wealthy man’s playground. However that phantasm of a calming vacation didn’t survive the primary hour. As soon as I used to be truly on the bottom, the sand shifted underneath my ft, revealing a a lot harsher, extra trustworthy actuality.
Sanya is commonly marketed because the “Hawaii of the East,” a spot the place you go to unwind. Nonetheless, for the 31-member Indian contingent and their continental friends on the 2026 Asian Seashore Video games (April 22–30), the white sands of Phoenix Island have been no place for a vacation. In the event you needed to distil your entire essence of the Video games right into a single phrase, it will be grit.
To the uninitiated, seaside sports activities are sometimes dismissed with a little bit of a snigger. We are inclined to affiliate the phrase “seaside” with holidays, lengthy breaks, and placing your ft up. However after spending just a few days watching all the pieces from handball and water polo to seaside athletics underneath a relentless, unforgiving solar, perspective modifications quick. It turned clear in a short time that sand is not only a floor; it’s a take a look at of the human spirit.
In tennis, we obsess over the nuances of clay versus grass. Why ought to sand be handled any in a different way? Scientifically talking, working on sand requires almost double the vitality of working on steady floor. Each stride you are taking is met with resistance, and each take-off for a protracted bounce or excessive bounce is like taking part in poker in opposition to the sand’s instability.
Take the Aquathlon, which compelled athletes to transition from the pounding, rhythmic tempo of street working to the surging waves of the ocean. Or take a look at the Seashore Athletics, the place Thailand’s dash sensation Puripol Boonson, the one Southeast Asian to interrupt the 10-second barrier within the 100m (clocking 9.94 on the 2025 SEA Video games) was an absolute marvel to look at.
Even on sand that had been rolled and flattened, his pace required a form of cat-like precision. On an artificial observe, you may depend on the floor to present you one thing again, a little bit of bounce to assist your subsequent stride. On the sand, should you dig your heels in too deep, the seaside merely eats your momentum.
Whereas the scoreboards are there to dictate historical past, it was the uncooked human emotion that actually outlined the ambiance in Sanya. I watched Hassan Ajamibakhtiarvand, the Iranian shot-put gold medallist, utterly crumble. Right here was a person constructed like a mountain, but he collapsed onto the sand after his profitable throw of 20.17m.
His tears weren’t actually celebrating; they have been the tears of a person representing a nation in deep turmoil. I remembered the strains of the Iranian poet Ahmad Shamlou: “The Mountain isn’t separate from the Earth.” On that seaside, Ajamibakhtiarvand was the mountain, and he was carrying the emotional weight of Iran’s battle.
In stark distinction was the pure ecstasy of Sri Lanka’s Nipuni Hewa Pedige. After clinching gold within the 50kg Seashore Wrestling, the Air Power athlete didn’t simply have a good time; she positioned her medal round her coach’s neck and touched his ft in a gesture of profound respect. In that fleeting second, even the waves appeared to go quiet. That spell of gratitude felt as grand and important as any Olympic stadium in Paris or Los Angeles.
For the Indian contingent, the sand taught us, providing classes exterior the world we practice and compete. The Ladies’s Kabaddi crew, led by Ritu, confirmed everybody why they’re the most effective. In an exhilarating ultimate in opposition to a resilient Sri Lankan facet, they overturned a slim half-time deficit to storm via to a 47-31 victory, securing their sixth consecutive crown.
“We by no means play on sand, so this win is basically satisfying,” Ritu remarked after the ultimate, already along with her sights set on the subsequent Asian Video games.
Nonetheless, the story took a distinct flip for Brijendra Singh Choudhary’s males’s squad. Regardless of a dominant run to the ultimate, together with a crushing 50-27 victory over rivals Pakistan, they got here up in opposition to a fierce Iranian facet, ultimately shedding 44-31. Brijendra’s post-match reflection was trustworthy and telling,
“Typically we take the floor without any consideration.”
It was a candid admission that maybe, someplace behind their minds, they hadn’t afforded the sand, or the Iranians’ unbelievable adaptability to it.
The sandpits additionally produced a few of India’s most “dogged” particular person performances. Priya (+70kg) snatched a gutsy, late 3-2 victory over Mongolia’s Zorigt, her face etched with the form of exhaustion solely sand can induce. In the meantime, Pushpa Yadav (60kg) pulled off a stunner in opposition to the native Chinese language favorite, Mengyu Xie, blanking her 3-0 in a show of persistence that silenced the house crowd.
Probably the most insightful classes of Sanya, nonetheless, lay far past the ultimate medal tally, which, for the report, noticed hosts China high the desk with 55 medals (24 gold, 18 silver, 13 bronze), whereas India completed sixth with 6 medals (3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze).
Watching athletes from Palestine, Iran, and Lebanon compete whereas their residence nations have been actually burning was a life-manual in resilience. Most of us really feel a surge of real anxiousness if our flight is delayed by an hour; these opponents stay in a actuality the place each single ring of their telephone may convey devastating, life-altering information.
On the sand, profitable and shedding takes on a very totally different dimension. It acts as a balm, the place after the bout is over, you may embrace your opponent and stroll away together with your head held excessive. Isn’t it at all times about shared dignity particularly for these coming from fractured lands.
Sand is our most pure, least costly useful resource, and given the success we noticed in Sanya, there’s a compelling case for doing extra with it. Think about the Asian Seashore Athletics Championships, or devoted seaside occasions for wrestling and boxing, turning into standalone fixtures underneath numerous nationwide associations. The infrastructure is supplied by nature.
These Video games proved that sport isn’t an escape from life’s hardships; it’s a spot the place you truly confront and overpower them. Whether or not it was the Qatari pair of world stars Samba Cherif and Janko Ahmed, Asian Video games Champions and Tokyo Olympic bronze medallists, turning seaside volleyball right into a rock-and-roll spectacle, or an Indian wrestler digging her toes into the grains for one ultimate takedown, the message was clear. The sand isn’t simply one other floor. It’s your ally. And it exposes your grit.
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