Asian Games: eSports star Yuki Kurihara, 11, goals to change into youngest medallist

Primary faculty pupil Yuki Kurihara made a flying begin as he grew to become the youngest athlete at this 12 months’s Asian Games.

The 11-year-old eSports star beat opponents nearly thrice his age in his native Japan on Thursday.

The teen competes in Puyo Puyo Champions, a puzzle sport just like Tetris which was developed in Japan.

Players attempt to clear their display screen of colored blobs by lining them up and popping them, creating chain reactions known as ‘dairensa’.

Kurihara beat all 4 opponents to high Group A and he’ll try to win gold on Saturday.

“The best feeling in the world is winning,” Kurihara told the Japan Times., external “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.

“I hope to win a gold medal for Japan.”

Japan’s youngest athlete in Asian Games history could also become the competition’s youngest ever medallist.

Indonesia’s Bunga Nyimas holds the record, having won bronze in women’s skateboarding aged 12 in 2018.

eSports has appeared in the previous two editions of the Asian Games, with Puyo Puyo being one of 11 medal events this year.

Kurihara says he eats eel to prepare for contests and secured his place on the Japan team at just 10 years old.

In February he beat an adult professional to win Sega’s Puyo Puyo Grand Prix Final and he turned pro himself in April – two months before his 11th birthday.

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