11-Year-Old eSports Star Becomes Youngest Athlete at Asian Games

Primary school student Yuki Kurihara has become the youngest athlete at this year's Asian Games, making a strong debut in the eSports competition.

The 11-year-old Japanese competitor advanced through his initial matches in Puyo Puyo Champions, a puzzle game developed in Japan. The game involves clearing a screen of colored blobs by strategically lining them up to create chain reactions.

Kurihara won all four of his matches to top Group A and is set to compete for the gold medal on Saturday. He expressed his determination, telling the Japan Times, "The best feeling in the world is winning." He added, "When I lose, I cry and try not to think about it too much. When the play doesn't go well it's not fun, so I want to quit. But I always come back."

If he secures a medal, Kurihara would also become the youngest medalist in the Asian Games' history, surpassing the current record held by Indonesia's Bunga Nyimas, who won bronze in skateboarding at age 12 in 2018.

eSports has been featured in the Asian Games for the past two editions, with Puyo Puyo being one of 11 medal events this year. Kurihara, who joined the Japan team at age 10, shared that he consumes eel to prepare for competitions. In February, he defeated a professional adult player to win Sega's Puyo Puyo Grand Prix Final, and he officially turned professional in April, just two months before his 11th birthday.

The Asian Games are being held in Nagoya and the Aichi region from September 19 to October 4.