The world’s first-ever World Humanoid Robot Games took place in Beijing, China on Thursday, putting a new generation of robots to the test in athletic and real-world competitions.

The three-day event, held at the National Speed Skating Oval, brought together over 500 humanoid robots from 16 countries, competing in everything from soccer and boxing to track and field and kung fu.

The games were a high-profile showcase of China’s advancements in robotics and a demonstration of its national strategy to lead the field of artificial intelligence. While the robots delivered some impressive performances, onlookers also saw their limitations. The event was filled with both glimpses of astonishing power and moments of awkward fumbles, with some robots stumbling during soccer matches and one famously losing its head during a race.

Beyond the sports, the games also included competitions for practical tasks like medicine sorting and home cleaning, underscoring the industry’s goal of moving humanoids from the lab to real-world applications. The event served as a crucial platform for engineers to test new technologies and highlighted the intensifying global competition in robotics.