In the men's competition, Japan's Sorato Anraku, the 19-year-old reigning world boulder champion, topped a highly competitive field that included Lee Do-hyun, Mejdi Schalck, Pan Yufei, and Tomoa Narasaki.

"Winning at a World Series is never easy. Every competition comes down to very fine margins," Anraku said, describing the season opener as mentally demanding.

He also credited his competitors for elevating his performance level. The victory marked his sixth career boulder title and his second consecutive season-opening win in Keqiao, where he has now reached the podium three times.

Following its successful hosting of the climbing events at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Keqiao district has leveraged this legacy to steadily develop a sustainable "Climbing+" model and set a benchmark for integrated sports development.

As the world's first venue fully equipped for competition functions and dedicated to the long-term hosting of international climbing events, the Yangshan Climbing Center has staged more than 10 international and national competitions, including World Cup events and the China Climbing League.

In doing so, it has built a mature operational and service system while establishing a distinctive presence within the global climbing landscape.

In recent years, Keqiao has further advanced the integration of sports and education, innovating talent development pathways for competitive climbing and actively promoting initiatives such as "Climbing into Schools", enabling the sport to take root among younger generations.