Yuki Kurihara, Japan’s 11-year-old e-sports prodigy, wins Asian Games gold

Gold medallist Yuki Kurihara, a primary school student, is the youngest athlete in host country Japan’s Asian Games history.

Japan’s 11-year-old e-sports prodigy Yuki Kurihara said he was “embarrassed” after winning Asian Games gold on Saturday by thrashing a series of opponents up to three times his age.

The bespectacled primary school student, believed to be the youngest competitor at the games in Aichi-Nagoya, won the Puyo Puyo Champions final 10-2.

He is the youngest athlete in the host country Japan’s Asian Games history.

Puyo Puyo Champions is a puzzle game where players try to clear their screen of coloured blobs by lining them up and popping them.

Looking unruffled throughout, Kurihara waltzed into the gold medal match with a string of dazzling displays.

He crushed Thailand’s Tanarak Wongkitkun – a relative veteran at 28 – 10-1 in the semifinals to ensure at least a silver medal.

He did not even smile after beating South Korea’s 24-year-old Kang Dongshin in the final, having gone down 1-0 early on.

“To be completely honest, I felt a bit embarrassed, so I couldn’t really show my expressions or change my face much,” he explained.

Standing on the podium, he bowed slightly as he received his gold medal and gave a small wave to the arena.

“I’m really happy. The gold medal is really beautiful, shiny and heavy,” he said.

“Also, the plush toy is super cute, and it’s cool that it is gold-coloured too.”

Kurihara started playing Puyo Puyo in his first year of primary school and soon started competing and winning in tournaments. He obtained his pro licence in April this year and regularly beats adults.

“It’s hard having to balance it with school and cram school, but it’s really fun,” he said ahead of the games.

There are no publicly available records of the youngest medallists in the history of the Asian Games, which were first contested in 1951.

But Indonesia’s Bunga Nyimas won bronze in women’s skateboarding aged 12 in Jakarta in 2018.

Cui Chenxi, 13, won games gold when she triumphed in the women’s street skateboarding event three years ago in Hangzhou.