Japan’s Yuki Kurihara, 11, who competes in Tokyo Verdy eSports’ Puyo Puyo division, defeated South Korea’s Kang Dong-shin 10–2 in the Puyo Puyo final on Sept. 26 to win gold at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, Nikkan Sports reported. The result made Kurihara the youngest medalist in Asian Games history, surpassing the previous record set by a 12-year-old skateboarder at the 2018 Jakarta Games.
Kurihara lost the opening game before leveling the final with a 15-chain. He then built his lead through follow-up chains and quick attacks. Nikkan reported that he also recovered after Kang cleared the board in the sixth game and stayed composed after dropping the seventh.
Kurihara had gone unbeaten in three group-stage matches on Sept. 24 to top Group A. On Sept. 26, he beat Singapore 5–0 in the quarterfinals and Thailand 10–1 in the semifinals before facing Kang again. The pair had also met in the group stage, where Kurihara won.
Esports entered the Asian Games programme at the 2023 Hangzhou edition. In April, SEGA reported that a Puyo Puyo competitor known as “Yuki” had won Japan’s final selection event for Aichi-Nagoya 2026. The Asian Games gold is Kurihara’s latest reported result on the international multisport stage.
