Yuki Kurihara, the 11-year-old child prodigy from Japan, won a Gold medal in the Asian Games on Saturday, beating a series of opponents up to three times his age.While today, most 11-year-olds are thinking about homework, snacks and the next level of their favourite game. Yuki Kurihara is thinking about gold medals too.Ask any child what they want to be when they grow up, and the answers usually come quickly: an astronaut, a footballer, a YouTuber. Very few say “a champion,” and even fewer become one before finishing primary school. Yuki Kurihara beat the odds, calling the Gold medal ‘beautiful, shiny and heavy ’.
Meet Yuki Kurihara: The 11-year-old eel-loving boy who won Asian Games gold with a puzzle game
Eleven-year-old Yuki Kurihara, who studies in primary school and loves eating eel, won an Asian Games gold medal in Japan on Saturday. He is believed to be the youngest competitor at the Games in Aichi-Nagoya and won the esports game Puyo Puyo Champions 10-2 in the final, after starting the match 1-0 down, according to an AFP report.Despite the big win, he stayed calm. The boy, who prepares for contests by eating eel, had just beaten a string of opponents, some of them three times his age. He said, “To be completely honest, I felt a bit embarrassed, so I couldn’t really show my expressions or change my face much.”He was delighted with his medal. “I’m really happy. The gold medal is really beautiful, shiny and heavy,” he said. He had earlier bowed slightly as he received it and given a small wave.
What is the game Puyo Puyo about?
According to The Japan Times report, in the game players try to clear their screen of coloured blobs by lining them up and popping them. He won the final with a massive score of 10-2, even though he was down 1-0 at the start of the final before he pulled away.
Young, but not the oldest story
Kurihara is believed to be the youngest competitor at the Games in Aichi-Nagoya, and his journey with the sport began only on a small scale when he received Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 as a Christmas present five years ago and became fascinated by how the game’s chains work. The Japan Times reports that he began playing in his first year of elementary school, won tournaments, and earned his pro licence in April.Saiga NAK, a sports media outlet, says that he plays under the name “Yuki” for Tokyo Verdy eSports and has also won the elementary school division of the 2024 SAGA National Prefectural eSports Championship and the open division of a 2025 SHIGA championship.
