BEIJING, China: China's national soccer team may struggle to stir excitement, but its humanoid robots are drawing cheers — and not for their athletic prowess.

In Beijing, four university teams sent AI-powered robots onto the soccer pitch over the weekend in a fast-paced 3-on-3 tournament that delighted crowds and marked a first in China.

The fully autonomous matches—with no human control or intervention—offered a glimpse of what the upcoming World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing might look like. According to organizers, each robot operated independently using advanced AI strategies, making real-time decisions on movement, passing, and positioning.

Equipped with high-tech visual sensors, the robots were able to identify the ball, navigate the field, and even recover after falls. Still, not all could stay upright—several had to be carried off on stretchers, a moment that drew both laughter and admiration from the audience.

The tournament reflects China's broader push to develop AI-powered humanoid robots, using sports as a proving ground. From boxing to marathons to soccer, competitions are being designed to test real-world applications of robotics in dynamic environments.

Cheng Hao, founder and CEO of Booster Robotics — which provided the robot hardware — said sports offer the ideal pressure test for both hardware and software systems. "In the future, we may arrange for robots to play football with humans. That means we must ensure the robots are completely safe," Cheng said. "For example, a robot and a human could play a match where winning doesn't matter, but real offensive and defensive interactions take place. That would help audiences build trust and understand that robots are safe."

All four university teams used the same Booster robot models, but each developed its own algorithms for perception, strategy, and passing. Cheng explained that schools program variables like speed, force, and direction to give their teams a competitive edge.

In the final match, Tsinghua University's THU Robotics defeated China Agricultural University's Mountain Sea team 5–3, winning the inaugural championship.

"They (THU) did really well," said Mr. Wu, a Tsinghua supporter who attended the event. "But the Mountain Sea team (of Agricultural University) was also impressive. They brought a lot of surprises."

The event stood in sharp contrast to the fortunes of China's actual men's national team, which has only qualified once for the World Cup and has already been eliminated from the 2026 tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.