China fills climbing quota for 2026 Asian Games at Meishan championship

The five-day Asian Climbing Championship concluded over the weekend in Meishan, Sichuan province, drawing more than 200 athletes from 15 countries and regions across Asia.

Japan topped the medal table with 10 medals — three golds, three silvers and four bronzes. China finished second with one gold, two silvers and one bronze. South Korea ranked third with one gold and one silver, followed by Indonesia in fourth with one gold and one bronze.

The medal distribution highlighted clear regional strengths. China and Indonesia swept all six speed medals across the men's and women's events, while Japan and South Korea dominated the boulder and lead disciplines, taking all 12 medals available.

During the women's speed final, held on the evening of April 9, Indonesian star Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi improved the Asian record to 6.07 seconds, coming just 0.04 seconds short of the world record.

"I'm very happy. In training, I can climb even better. I've clocked 5.97 seconds," Desak Rita added.

China also demonstrated its depth in speed climbing. Five of the six Chinese men reached the round of 16, and three advanced to the semifinals. The women did the same.

In the men's event, 20-year-old Chu Shouhong defeated Paris Olympic champion Veddriq Leonardo of Indonesia in the men's semifinal.

The championship served as the final qualification event for September's Nagoya Asian Games. After five days of intense competition, Chu Shouhong secured a spot in the men's speed event and Zhou Yafei qualified for the women. Hu Junzhe along with Luo Zhilu qualified in the men's and women's boulder and lead events, respectively. Combined with the spots previously earned by Long Jianguo and others at the Seoul World Championships, China has now achieved a full quota of entries across all climbing disciplines for the Asian Games.

The Asian Championship was organized by the Asian Council of the International Federation of Sport Climbing, and was co-hosted by the Mountaineering Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, the Chinese Mountaineering Association, the Sichuan Provincial Sports Bureau and the Meishan Municipal People's Government.

Meishan, which has positioned itself as a modern sports city, has previously hosted more than 30 major international and domestic events. The city continues to see positive momentum in integrating its sports industry with cultural, tourism and commercial development.

During the competition, the Meishan government issued accommodation and dining vouchers to residents of four cities, including Chengdu and Meishan itself, encouraging greater public engagement with the event.