Eel-powered Japan whizz-kid, 11, chases Asian Games history
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Yuki Kurihara (centre), 11, will compete in e-Sports event Puyo Puyo Champions at the 2026 Asian Games.
PHOTO: AFP
- Yuki Kurihara, 11, will be Japan's youngest athlete at the Asian Games and aims to become the youngest medallist in e-Sports Puyo Puyo Champions.
- Kurihara balances school and training, having started playing Puyo Puyo early and earned his pro licence in April, competing regularly against adults.
- He hopes to win gold for Japan, improve his skills, and inspire newcomers with impressive gameplay, noting eel as his lucky food before contests.
AI generated
TOKYO – Yuki Kurihara will become Japan’s youngest athlete in Asian Games history in September, and the 11-year-old e-Sports whizz-kid wants to be the competition’s youngest medallist too.
The bespectacled primary-school pupil joined his Japan teammates this week for an inauguration ceremony ahead of their home Games, which take place in Nagoya and the wider Aichi area from Sept 19 to Oct 4.
Kurihara will compete in e-Sports event Puyo Puyo Champions, a puzzle game where players try to clear their screen of coloured blobs by lining them up and popping them.
He is aiming to outshine a previous child medallist: Indonesia’s Bunga Nyimas, who won bronze in women’s skateboarding aged 12 in Jakarta in 2018.
“I want to win so that I can bring a gold medal back for Team Japan,” Kurihara said.
The Asian Games, which were first contested in 1951, have in recent editions witnessed numerous school-age athletes.
Cui Chenxi, 13, became China’s youngest Asian Games gold medallist when she won the women’s street skateboarding event three years ago in Hangzhou.
Cui was not even the youngest skateboarder appearing at the Games.
Nine-year-old Mazel Paris Alegado competed for the Philippines in the women’s park finals, and the women’s street finals had a pair of Thai competitors aged 11 and 12.
Kurihara started playing Puyo Puyo in his first year of primary school, and soon started competing in and winning tournaments.
He obtained his pro licence in April and regularly competes against adults.
“It’s hard having to balance it with school and cram school, but it’s really fun,” he said.
“It’s the summer holidays now so I have a lot of time to practise. I want to practise a lot and develop some new strengths.”
Kurihara says his favourite food is eel, and his “win rate is better” if he eats it before a contest.
Puyo Puyo is a game of skill and dexterity, with players looking to set off chains to clear their screens of coloured blobs.
Kurihara says he has pulled off a maximum chain of 19 and he is looking to polish his skills further.
“It feels great when you set off a massive chain,” he said.
“I’d love for newcomers to see a massive chain too.” AFP
