Games-Japan's 11-year-old esports prodigy wins Asiad gold and rival's praise

Japan's 11-year-old ​esports prodigy Yuki Kurihara won ​the puzzle gold — and ‌rich praise ​from his opponent — at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday.

The bespectacled youngster barely broke a sweat ‌as he cruised past South Korea's Kang Dong Shin 10-2 in Puyo Puyo Champions at the Aichi Sky Expo Hall, sounding like any regular kid only ‌after his victory. "I'm really happy. The gold medal is really beautiful, ‌shiny and heavy," Yuki said.

"Also, the plush toy is super cute, and it's cool that it is gold-coloured too. "In the final, I was able to play against the opponent ⁠I ​wanted to face ⁠the most, who was also very strong."

Kurihara had sailed through his preliminary matches to top ⁠Group A and carried that momentum into the knockout rounds, blanking Singapore's Justin Koh ​Mun June 5-0 and overpowering Thailand's Tanarak Wongkitikun 10-1 to storm ⁠into the final. "Looking back at the match, it's a bit frustrating," silver medallist Kang said.

"It's ⁠obvious ​that my opponent was skilled and above my level, but towards the end I didn't get the Puyo colours I needed, which ⁠led to the loss, so that part feels a bit regrettable. "I was being ⁠cautious because Kurihara ⁠is extremely good at making large chain reactions. His technical ability and accuracy are incredible.

"I'm going to eat something ‌delicious ‌today."