No cleats. No hard ground. No room for reckless slides or brute force. Instead, beach soccer rewards barefoot artistry on soft sand: delicate footwork, razor-sharp turns, and tiny passing combinations that carve open defenses.

Most captivating of all, stunts like diving headers, scissor kicks and bicycle kicks hang in the air just long enough for the crowd to erupt.

To play barefoot could somehow lower one's guard. It means shedding disguises, leaving behind identities and pretenses, so that the soles can feel the sand's warmth directly; skin to earth, body to nature.

Under a warm sea breeze and orange sunset, the recently concluded sixth Asian Beach Games in Sanya, Hainan province, brought players and spectators together to share in the laid-back, respectful and peaceful vibe of beach soccer matches.

Now look at the four best beach soccer teams in the Games: Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Palestine.

Caught in active conflict, shaken by regional turmoil, or burdened by unresolved, long-standing strife; all are facing uncertainties. Not one is truly at peace.

Take Iran for example, a nation still bleeding from war. It sent a 57-athlete delegation to contest 10 out of the total 14 sports disciplines in Sanya, and ended up third on the medal table with nine golds and one silver.

"It was a historic placing for our team," said Mahdi Alinejad, secretary-general of the Iranian National Olympic Committee.

He said the war had destroyed some of their sports training bases and there were no flights from Tehran. They had to start their journey with several bus rides that took more than 20 hours to reach Ashgabat, the capital of neighboring Turkmenistan, from which they could finally take a plane. The whole journey took them 52 hours.

"We tried to make up for the lack of training, as we didn't have much time to prepare because of the war," Alinejad told China Daily after Iran beat Oman 6-2 to clinch the gold medal in beach soccer on Wednesday night.

"I think all the people in Iran are very happy about this achievement in Sanya. Sports can heal our pain," he said, adding that they received a warm welcome in Sanya, as they constantly heard support and cheers from the stands."We want to show that we support the peace and unity on our continent."

Talib Al-Thanawi, head coach of Oman's beach soccer team, said that they have a good relationship with Iran in sports. They invite each other to exchange and play matches, and they often meet in the finals of major tournaments.