Primary school student Yuki Kurihara made a flying start as he became the youngest athlete at this year’s Asian Games.

The 11-year-old eSports star beat opponents almost three times his age in his native Japan on Thursday.

The youngster competes in Puyo Puyo Champions, a puzzle game similar to Tetris which was developed in Japan.

Players try to clear their screen of coloured blobs by lining them up and popping them, creating chain reactions called ‘dairensa’.

Kurihara beat all four opponents to top Group A and he will attempt to win gold on Saturday.

“The best feeling in the world is winning,” Kurihara told the Japan Times., external “When I lose, I cry and try not to think about it too much. When the play doesn’t go well it’s not fun, so I want to quit. But I always come back.

“I hope to win a gold medal for Japan.”

Japan’s youngest athlete in Asian Games history could also become the competition’s youngest ever medallist.

Indonesia’s Bunga Nyimas holds the record, having won bronze in women’s skateboarding aged 12 in 2018.

eSports has appeared in the previous two editions of the Asian Games, with Puyo Puyo being one of 11 medal events this year.

Kurihara says he eats eel to prepare for contests and secured his place on the Japan team at just 10 years old.

In February he beat an adult professional to win Sega’s Puyo Puyo Grand Prix Final and he turned pro himself in April – two months before his 11th birthday.

The Asian Games are being held in Nagoya and the wider Aichi area from 19 September to 4 October.