Sanya, China, March 31, 2026: The Sanya Asian Beach Games Organising Committee has announced that a total of 1,790 athletes will take part.
This figure was announced at a 30-day countdown event held on March 23, when SABGOC also revealed the sports with the biggest number of entries.
National Olympic Committees from the OCA’s 45 countries and regions have signed up for the event, according to Xinhua News.
The Games will feature 14 sports, 15 disciplines and 62 events. The women's beach football event has been cancelled due to an insufficient number of teams, while all other events will go ahead as planned.
The top five sports by number of participants are:
*beach handball
*dragon boat
*beach athletics
*ju-jitsu
*beach volleyball
Beach handball has attracted the largest number of athletes, with 237.
In terms of delegation size, the top five participating teams are Thailand, China, the Philippines, India and Hong Kong, China.
Li Haigang, deputy secretary-general of the organising committee, said the overall competition schedule and event timetables would be released soon.
"The detailed timing of events will be clarified to help media and spectators better plan their viewing schedules," he added.
Meanwhile, operational teams at all competition venues have completed multiple rounds of training, tabletop exercises and test events.
"Athletes, coaches and officials from across Asia will gather in Sanya to compete amid its blue seas and sandy beaches," Li said.
"We will spare no effort in our preparations to provide a high-quality competition environment and deliver splendid Games."
The Games will be held from April 22 to 30.
