Who were the top teen athletes at the Asian Games?

Teenage athletes person headlined immoderate of the biggest Asian Games triumphs, starring their countries to historical golden medals, breaking records and cementing their bequest arsenic formidable forces successful the field.

Far from being intimidated by competitors treble oregon triple their age, these schoolchildren remained chill and unfazed arsenic they cruised to golden astatine their Asian Games debut.

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Many are already acquainted with the unit and expectations of the satellite signifier and person dominated their athletics each season.

Al Jazeera Sport looks astatine immoderate of the stars who near their people successful Japan:

Yu Zidi, 13

China: Swimming 

At conscionable 13, Yu was named pistillate Most Valuable Player (MVP), arsenic she bagged 3 golden medals and broke arsenic galore Asian Games records successful a fairytale debut.

The schoolgirl stormed to triumph successful the women’s 200m butterfly, 200m and 400m idiosyncratic medley (IM) and had a comfy pb implicit her competitors.

Her clip of 2 minutes and 6.10 seconds (2:06.10) successful the 200m IM stands arsenic a satellite inferior grounds and second-fastest clip ever.

“I don’t deliberation I americium what radical picture arsenic a prodigy,” she said aft being crowned MVP. “I volition proceed to bid hard, propulsion myself and enactment alongside young athletes crossed Asia to animate much young radical to emotion and instrumentality portion successful sports, particularly swimming.”

Yu Zidi celebrates aft winning the 400m Individual Medley [Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images]

Zhang Zhanshuo, 19

China: Swimming

Zhang held up 7 fingers aft his 400m freestyle triumph to number retired his golden medals astatine the Games – the astir astatine this edition, and much than what 27 of the 45 participating nations had successful their medal tally astatine the decision of the event.

He acceptable Games records successful the 400m and 800m freestyle, an Asian grounds successful the 200m, and helped powerfulness China to golden and Asian records successful the men’s 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays.

But the 19-year-old has bigger victories successful sight.

“The Asian Games is not the goal. I’m inactive aiming for the Olympics and competing with the best,” helium said.

The teenager’s haul helped China motion disconnected from swimming with 30 golds retired of 41 medal events successful the pool, with main rival Japan a distant 2nd with 7 titles.

Zhang astatine the extremity of the men’s 400m freestyle [Andy Chua/Reuters]

Shin Ohashi, 17

Japan: Swimming 

Ohashi broke the satellite grounds successful the men’s 200m breaststroke (2:04.83) successful beforehand of a location assemblage to go the archetypal swimmer nether the 2:05 mark.

The golden added to his rubric successful the 100m breaststroke shared with China’s Dong Zhihao, bronze successful the 50m breaststroke, and metallic successful the mixed and men’s 4x100m medley relays.

The teen said helium was amazed and honoured that Olympic champion Leon Marchand knew who helium was, aft the Frenchman described the 17-year-old arsenic a “scary” imaginable up of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“I respect him due to the fact that I cognize conscionable however beardown helium is. But if I privation to win, he’s idiosyncratic I cognize I’ll person to beat.”

Ohashi’s satellite grounds show came conscionable a week aft the teen recovered from COVID-19.

Shin Ohashi broke the satellite grounds successful men’s 200m breaststroke [Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images]

Yan Ziyi, 18

China: Athletics 

Yan was already javelin satellite fig 1 and Asian grounds holder erstwhile she stepped onto the tract for her Games debut – her archetypal and lone propulsion of 70.46 metres was capable for golden and a Games record.

It was the sixth-best of each clip and good up of Olympic champion and location leader Haruka Kitaguchi’s 62.70m.

Yan is closing successful connected the satellite grounds of 72.28m acceptable by Barbora Spotakova successful 2008. In May, she hurled a world-leading, record-breaking 71.74m to unfastened an unprecedented season.

Yan during the women’s javelin propulsion last [Mohd Rasfan/AFP]

Chen Yujie, 17

China: Athletics

Chen stormed to a caller Games grounds successful the women’s 100m en way to her archetypal golden arsenic she announced herself arsenic the caller sprint queen successful Asia.

“I person nary limits,” was her effect erstwhile asked however overmuch faster she hopes to run.

She followed up her podium decorativeness with a metallic successful the 200m and golden successful the women’s and mixed 4x100m relays.

Chen celebrates aft winning the women’s 100m last [Mohd Rasfan/AFP]

Taiju Goto, 17

Japan: Athletics

Goto narrowly missed golden successful the men’s 400m hurdles, but his 47.93s was capable for a satellite under-18 champion time, Asian under-20 champion time, and a caller idiosyncratic best.

The teen prima has tally sub-50 seconds 8 times this play alone, an awesome feat for a 17-year-old. His Asian Games metallic added to the World Under-20 1 helium bagged successful August.

Bassem Hemeida of Qatar crosses the decorativeness enactment to triumph the golden medal up of Japan’s Taiju Goto successful the men’s 400m hurdles last [Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images]

Kumkum Mohod, 17

India: Archery

Mohod scripted past for India erstwhile she became the archetypal Indian to triumph an idiosyncratic recurve archery golden astatine the Games. The 17-year-old helped India to golden successful the women’s squad recurve, and partnered with Dhiraj Bommadevara for mixed squad silver.

Mohod’s golden was nary changeable of luck; she defeated South Korea’s reigning satellite champion and Olympic medallist Kang Chaeyoung successful the quarterfinals earlier dominating China’s Zhu Jingyi successful the semifinals.

“Ever since I’ve made it to the nationalist team, I’ve been visualising this moment. I had visualised shooting an X, and that is precisely what happened,” she told reporters aft the match, according to Indian media.

Kumkum Anil Mohod [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]

Anahat Singh, 18

India: Squash

World inferior champion Anahat Singh has been India’s finest successful the athletics for respective years now. Despite lone being 18, Aichi-Nagoya was Singh’s 2nd Asian Games outing aft competing astatine Hangzhou 2023, wherever she won 2 bronze medals successful the mixed doubles and women’s squad events.

This clip round, she won a metallic successful the women’s singles against satellite fig 5 Sivasangari Subramaniam of Malaysia. However, her semifinal lucifer against Japan’s Satomi Watanabe was what she called the “best win” of her vocation aft producing a stellar comeback to decision the satellite fig six.

India’s Anahat Singh successful enactment during the women’s singles golden medal lucifer [Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters]

Yuki Kurihara, 11

Japan: e-sports

At conscionable 11 years of age, e-sports prodigy Kurihara became the youngest golden medallist successful Asian Games past erstwhile helium won Puyo Puyo Champions.

“I’m truly happy. The golden medal is truly beautiful, shiny and heavy,” Kurihara said aft his final, wherever helium hardly broke a sweat.

Kurihara started playing Puyo Puyo successful his archetypal twelvemonth of superior schoolhouse – wherever helium inactive studies – and soon started competing and winning successful tournaments. He obtained his pro licence successful April this twelvemonth and regularly beats adults, often triple his age.

Yuki Kurihara of Japan poses connected the podium [Toru Hanai/Getty Images]

Ku Yong-yan, 12

Taipei: Skateboarding

Ku took metallic successful the men’s skateboarding parkland with 87.33 points, and was conscionable 1 of respective teenagers – successful his case, a pre-teen – who medalled successful skateboarding astatine the Games.

Japan’s Izuru Nagahara, 15, took golden successful the event. China’s Zhu Yuanling, besides 15, won golden successful the women’s thoroughfare skateboarding competition.

China’s Cao Shiqi finished 4th successful women’s skateboarding parkland and was the youngest jock successful China’s delegation astatine the Games.

Ku Yong-yan successful enactment during the men’s parkland last [Andrew Couldridge/Reuters]