NAGOYA:
Japan’s 11-year-old eSports prodigy Yuki Kurihara stated he was “embarrassed” after profitable Asian Video games gold on Saturday by thrashing a collection of opponents as much as thrice his age.
The bespectacled major college pupil, believed to be the youngest competitor on the Video games in Aichi-Nagoya, gained the Puyo Puyo Champions ultimate 10-2.
He’s the youngest athlete in host nation Japan’s Asian Video games historical past.
Puyo Puyo Champions is a puzzle recreation the place gamers attempt to clear their display of colored blobs by lining them up and popping them.
Trying unruffled all through, Kurihara waltzed into the gold-medal match with a string of dazzling shows.
He crushed Thailand’s Tanarak Wongkitkun — a relative veteran at 28 — 10-1 within the semi-finals to make sure a minimum of a silver medal.
He didn’t even smile after beating South Korea’s 24-year-old Kang Dongshin within the ultimate, having gone down 1-0 early on.
“To be fully trustworthy, I felt a bit embarrassed, so I could not actually present my expressions or change my face a lot,” he defined.
Standing on the rostrum, he bowed barely as he acquired his gold medal and gave a small wave to the world.
“I am actually completely satisfied. The gold medal is admittedly lovely, shiny and heavy,” he stated.
“Additionally, the plush toy is tremendous cute, and it is cool that it’s gold-coloured too.”
Kurihara began taking part in Puyo Puyo in his first 12 months of major college and shortly began competing and profitable in tournaments.
He obtained his professional licence in April this 12 months and commonly beats adults.
“It is laborious having to stability it with college and cram college, nevertheless it’s actually enjoyable,” he stated forward of the Video games.
There are not any publicly out there information of youngest medallists within the historical past of the Asian Video games, which have been first contested in 1951.
However Indonesia’s Bunga Nyimas gained bronze in ladies’s skateboarding aged 12 in Jakarta in 2018.
Cui Chenxi, 13, gained Video games gold when she triumphed within the ladies’s avenue skateboarding occasion three years in the past in Hangzhou.