Not Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yuki Kurihara, Japan’s 11-Year-Old E-Sports Prodigy, Is Asian Games’ Youngest Gold Medalist

Team India clinched yet another gold medal as the Shreyas Iyer-led side defeated rivals Pakistan in the men's cricket final. The victory saw India's teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi step on the podium to receive the gold medal from ICC chairman Jay Shah.

At 15, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is amongst the youngest to have gotten a gold medal in the Asian Games. The left-hander is known for breaking records, but the Asian Games record still belongs to Japan’s 11-year-old e-sports prodigy Yuki Kurihara.

Who is the youngest gold medallist at Asian Games?

Japan’s Yuki Kurihara, just 11 years old, became the youngest gold medallist in Asian Games history after winning the Puyo Puyo Champions esports event at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. The Japanese schoolboy defeated South Korea’s 24-year-old Kang Dongshin 10-2 in the final, having earlier beaten Thailand’s 28-year-old Tanarak Wongkitkun 10-1 in the semifinal.

Kurihara, who began playing Puyo Puyo in primary school and received his professional esports licence in April 2026, has made history by winning gold against opponents more than twice his age.

Vaibhav is India's youngest

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is however, India’s youngest-ever Asian Games gold medallist, at 15 years, 6 months and 6 days. He surpassed Saurabh Chaudhary, who was 16 years, 3 months and 9 days old when he won the men’s 10m air pistol gold at the 2018 Asian Games.

However, there is an important distinction: Vaibhav is the youngest Indian Asian Games gold medallist overall, while Saurabh remains the youngest Indian to win an individual Asian Games gold medal.