'Wow, Puyi is crazy' — Watch the 11th-year-old Japanese elementary school student who defeated Korean veteran Kang Dong-shin twice! 'Puyo Puyo' prodigy claims historic youngest-ever gold at AG [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

The youngest gold medalist in Asian Games history has emerged — and not only did he defeat Korean veteran Kang Dong-shin of the national team twice, once in the group stage and again in the final, but he did so with flawless precision to claim the top spot. The protagonist is 11-year-old Japanese elementary school fifth-grader Yuki Kurihara (stage name: Yuki · Tokyo Verdy).

On the 26th, at the finals of the e-sports puzzle game 'Puyo Puyo' at the '2026 Aichi·Nagoya Asian Games' held at the Aichi International Exhibition Hall in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Kurihara secured the gold medal with a dominant 10-2 victory over South Korea's Kang Dong-shin. Kang, who reached the finals wearing the national emblem, claimed a valuable silver medal.

It was a complete sweep of all matches between Korea and Japan from the group stage through to the final. Kurihara defeated Kang in Group A on the 24th during the group stage, finishing with three straight wins to top his group and advance to the tournament bracket. On that day, he shut out Singapore's Wen Jun Justin 5-0 in the round of eight, then crushed Thailand's Tanarak Wongkitikun 10-1 in the semifinals, advancing smoothly to the final.

The final opponent was Kang Dong-shin, who rebounded from a group-stage loss by defeating Taiwan's Guo Ziyang to reach the finals. The early rounds of the rematch were closely contested. After conceding the first point in Round 1, Kurihara turned the tide dramatically in Round 2 with an astonishing '16-chain' massive explosion that completely reversed the momentum and reset the match.

The turning point came in Round 5. Kang Dong-shin unleashed a stunning 'all-clear (complete field clearance)' that left Kurihara on the brink of defeat. However, Kurihara overcame the crisis with superhuman composure reminiscent of e-sports legend Faker Lee Sang-hyeok's legendary plays. He turned the incoming barrage of blocking blocks into a counterattack at the last moment, dramatically stealing the round. Having fully seized control of the flow, Kurihara unleashed relentless offensive pressure and sealed the match with a decisive 10-2 victory.

With this win, 11-year-old Kurihara broke the previous record set by Indonesia's Nina Chinta, who won bronze in the women's street skateboarding event at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games at age 12, surpassing it after eight years and cementing his place as the youngest-ever gold medalist in Asian Games history.

Kurihara's genius was evident early on. According to reports from Japanese outlets such as Sports Nichi Annex, he first picked up a controller with 'Puyo Puyo Tetris 2' received as a Christmas gift during kindergarten. After entering elementary school, he devoted four hours daily to the game. By second grade, he had already defeated adult professional players and stood out among his peers. Last year, at age 10, he earned professional status and then passed the highly competitive Japanese national team selection tournament for the Asian Games — a spot reserved for only one player — before facing off against South Korea's national emblem.

By elevating gaming to the level of an overwhelmingly dominant sport and defeating the Korean representative twice, Japan's 11-year-old prodigy 'Puyi' (a portmanteau of Puyo Puyo + Faker) has made a truly impressive mark.

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*This content was translated by AI.