Japan schoolboy, 11, wins gold while empty seats blight Asian Games
Kurihara, believed to be the youngest competitor at the Games in Aichi-Nagoya, romped to victory in the eSports game Puyo Puyo Champions 10-2 after going 1-0 down in the final.
Eleven-year-old Yuki Kurihara became the youngest competitor to win a gold medal at the Asian Games when he triumphed in the eSports game Puyo Puyo Champions 10-2. Despite trailing by one point at the start of the final, the Japanese schoolboy showed exceptional skill to dominate his opponents, including several who were three times his age.
Yuki expressed his joy, stating that the gold medal was "really beautiful, shiny and heavy." He also struggled to show his emotions due to embarrassment over the empty seats at the main athletics stadium, where less than 60% of tickets had been sold for sports like soccer and the closing ceremony. Asian Games organizers admitted they were "not satisfied" with ticket sales and apologized for transport and accommodation mix-ups that left some athletes stranded.
Three more world records were set in weightlifting, bringing the Games' total to 12. North Korea's Ri Won Ju claimed victory in the men's 70-kilogram category with an impressive 349kg total. Hosts Japan excelled in the men's marathon, with Ichitaka Yamashita setting a new personal best time of 2 hours 10 minutes 49 seconds. In the women's marathon, Bahrain's Shitaye Habte secured her first Asian Games gold medal at the age of 36, despite her three young children demanding her attention at home.
Additionally, Dayanch Keletliyev of Turkmenistan was disqualified from the karate competition after testing positive for the prohibited substance meldonium.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
