Japanese esports player Yuki Kurihara, at the age of 11, won gold at the Asian Games on home soil, becoming the youngest champion in the history of the competition, according to infohub.kz.
Kurihara competed in the Puzzle discipline. The event was held in the puzzle video game Puyo Puyo Champions.
In the group stage, the Japanese player defeated all four of his opponents, including Kazakhstan's Alexander Pivovarov. Then in the playoffs, Kurihara successively crushed opponents from Singapore (5-0), Thailand (10-1), and South Korea (10-2).
Born on June 18, 2015, the Japanese player became the youngest champion in Asian Games history. The previous record was held by Chinese skateboarder Cui Chenxi, who won at the age of 13 in Hangzhou (2023).
Pivovarov, meanwhile, fought for a quarterfinal spot on Saturday but lost. Kazakhstan's Pokemon UNITE team also finished its run — this is a strategic team game in the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) genre. Azamat Kadyr, Sardar Yerekenov, and Rafa Berdaly finished last in their group and did not advance to the playoffs.