Indonesia's climbing duo Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi and Kadek Adi Asih broke the women's speed relay world record while securing gold at the Asian Beach Games Sanya 2026 in China on April 29, 2026, evening WIB. This marked Indonesia's first gold at the event. The achievement came after tight battles in the semifinal and final.
The Indonesian pair Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi and Kadek Adi Asih started at the Asian Beach Games Sanya 2026 in fourth place during qualification with a time of 14.27 seconds. Their performance surged in the knockout stages.
In the semifinal against host China, they clocked 13.174 seconds, shattering the world record the opponents had just set by 0.04 seconds. "We did not expect to break the record because we only focused on performing maximally," Desak said. This propelled them to the final.
Facing South Korea in the gold-medal match, the duo performed solidly with 13.76 seconds to secure victory. "This is my first Asian Beach Games and I directly won gold," Desak stated. For Kadek, the medal holds special meaning after failing in the individual event, marking a career turning point.
In the men's event, Raharjati Nursamsa and Antasyafi Robby Al Hilmi took silver, narrowly losing to China with 9.80 seconds, trailing by 0.05 seconds. Indonesia fielded eight speed climbers, including Puja Lestari and Aditya Tri Syahria. The feat serves as a foundation for the Asian Games 2026 and Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
