Kuwait, May 19 (QNA) - The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has announced that the Asian Beach Games will return in 2026 in Sanya, on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), Hussain Al Musallam, said that the games will be held from April 22 to 30, 2026.

Sanya was scheduled to host the sixth edition of the Asian Beach Games in 2020, but they were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Al Musallam noted that during the 45th OCA General Assembly, held recently in Kuwait, the OCA and the Chinese Olympic Committee met and unanimously decided to revive the Asian Beach Games in Sanya, which had been suspended due to the pandemic.

It is worth noting that the first edition of the Asian Beach Games was held in Bali, Indonesia, in 2008, followed by the second edition in the Omani capital, Muscat, in 2010, then the third edition in Haiyang, China, in 2012, while the Thai island of Phuket hosted the fourth edition in 2014, and finally the fifth edition was held in the city of Danang, Vietnam, in 2016. (QNA)