Japan’s 11-year-old e-sports player Yuki Kurihara has won gold at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, defeating South Korea’s Kang Dongshin 10-2 in the Puyo Puyo Champions final.
Kurihara, a primary school student and believed to be the youngest competitor at the Games, overcame a one-game deficit before dominating the final against the 24-year-old.
His victory makes him the youngest athlete in Japan’s Asian Games history. He had earlier beaten Thailand’s 28-year-old Tanarak Wongkitkun 10-1 in the semi-final.
Kurihara wins Puyo Puyo Champions gold
Puyo Puyo Champions is a puzzle game in which players clear coloured blobs from their screens by lining them up and making them disappear.
Kurihara advanced to the medal match after a series of impressive performances, but showed little outward emotion when he secured the title.
“To be completely honest, I felt a bit embarrassed, so I couldn’t really show my expressions or change my face much,” he said.
He bowed slightly while receiving his medal and gave a small wave to the arena before describing the prize as “really beautiful, shiny and heavy”.
“Also, the plush toy is super cute, and it’s cool that it is gold-coloured too,” he added.
Kurihara began playing Puyo Puyo in his first year of primary school and soon started entering tournaments, where he regularly defeated adult opponents. He obtained his professional licence in April this year.
He has also spoken about the challenge of managing competitions alongside his education. “It’s hard having to balance it with school and cram school, but it’s really fun,” he said before the Games.
There are no publicly available records identifying the youngest medallists in Asian Games history. Indonesia’s Bunga Nyimas won bronze in women’s skateboarding aged 12 in 2018, while China’s Cui Chenxi was 13 when she won gold in the women’s street skateboarding event three years ago.
