Why 11-year-old Yuki Kurihara felt ’embarrassed’ after winning Asian Games gold

Japanese Yuki Kurihara already won a gold medal at the Asian Games at the age of 11. But after defeating a player much older than him, the young esports player said he felt “embarrassed” and couldn’t show much emotion.Kurihara, an elementary school student and the youngest athlete in Japan’s Asian Games history, defeated 24-year-old Kang Dongshin of South Korea 10-2 in the final of the Puyo Puyo Champions on Saturday.

Gold medal after dominating the senior players

Kurihara had an impressive run to the finals. In the semi-finals, he defeated Thai Tanarak Wongkitkun (28) by a high margin of 10:1. The win guaranteed him at least a silver medal.The final was also one-sided, despite Kurihara losing the opening match 1-0. He then took control and won 10-2.Despite the victory, Kurihara did not celebrate wildly.“To be completely honest, I felt a bit awkward, so I couldn’t show much of my expressions or change my face,” he said.

“The gold medal is really beautiful”

Kurihara looked calm throughout the contest. As he accepted his gold medal on the podium, he bowed slightly before waving to the arena.“I’m really happy. The gold medal is really beautiful, shiny and heavy,” he said.“Plus, the stuffed animal is super cute and it’s great that it’s gold too.”

Puyo Puyo started playing in elementary school

Kurihara started playing Puyo Puyo in his first year of elementary school. Soon he started participating in tournaments and winning them. He received his professional license in April this year and regularly beats adult players.“It’s hard to balance it with school and cram in school, but it’s really fun,” Kurihara said ahead of the Asian Games.Puyo Puyo Champions is a puzzle game where players remove colored balls from the screen by lining them up and making them disappear.

The youngest at the Asian Games?

There are no publicly available records showing the youngest medalists in Asian Games history. The Games were first held in 1951. Indonesia’s Bunga Nyimas won a bronze medal in women’s skateboarding at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games when she was 12 years old.Three years ago, China’s Cui Chenxi won gold in women’s street skateboarding at the Asian Games in Hangzhou at the age of 13.Meanwhile, Kurihara made it to the Asian Games at just 11 years old.