Japan’s 11-year-old esports prodigy Yuki Kurihara admitted he felt “embarrassed” after winning Asian Games gold on Saturday, following a dominant run that saw him defeat opponents more than twice his age.
The bespectacled primary school student, believed to be the youngest competitor at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, beat South Korea’s 24-year-old Kang Dongshin 10-2 in the Puyo Puyo Champions final.
The victory also made Kurihara the youngest athlete in Japan’s Asian Games history.
Puyo Puyo Champions is a puzzle game in which players clear their screens by lining up and popping colourful blobs. Despite his young age, Kurihara appeared calm throughout the competition and produced a series of impressive performances on his way to the final.
In the semi-final, he defeated Thailand’s 28-year-old Tanarak Wongkitkun 10-1, securing at least a silver medal before going on to claim gold.
Kurihara initially fell 1-0 behind against Kang but quickly turned the match around. Even after securing the gold medal, he barely showed any emotion.
“To be completely honest, I felt a bit embarrassed, so I couldn’t really show my expressions or change my face much,” he said.
During the medal ceremony, Kurihara gave a slight bow as he received his gold medal before offering a small wave to the crowd.
“I’m really happy. The gold medal is really beautiful, shiny and heavy,” he said.
He was also delighted with the tournament mascot plush toy.
“Also, the plush toy is super cute, and it’s cool that it is gold-coloured too,” he added.
Kurihara began playing Puyo Puyo during his first year of primary school and quickly progressed to competing in tournaments, where he began defeating adult players.
He obtained his professional licence in April this year and has since continued to regularly beat older competitors.
“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 showing the youngest medallists in Asian Games history, with the continental competition first held in 1951.
However, Indonesia’s Bunga Nyimas won a bronze medal in women’s skateboarding at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games at the age of 12.
Three years ago, 13-year-old Cui Chenxi of China won gold in the women’s street skateboarding event at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
