Teenage athletes have headlined some of the biggest Asian Games triumphs, leading their countries to historic gold medals, breaking records and cementing their legacy as formidable forces in the field.
Far from being intimidated by competitors double or triple their age, these schoolchildren remained cool and unfazed as they cruised to gold at their Asian Games debut.
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Many are already familiar with the pressure and expectations of the world stage and have dominated their sport all season.
Al Jazeera Sport looks at some of the stars who left their mark in Japan:
Yu Zidi, ۱۳
China: Swimming
At just ۱۳, Yu was named female Most Valuable Player (MVP), as she bagged three gold medals and broke as many Asian Games records in a fairytale debut.
The schoolgirl stormed to victory in the women’s ۲۰۰m butterfly, ۲۰۰m and ۴۰۰m individual medley (IM) and had a comfortable lead over her competitors.
Her time of two minutes and ۶.۱۰ seconds (۲:۰۶.۱۰) in the ۲۰۰m IM stands as a world junior record and second-fastest time ever.
“I don’t think I am what people describe as a prodigy,” she said after being crowned MVP. “I will continue to train hard, push myself and work alongside young athletes across Asia to inspire more young people to love and take part in sports, especially swimming.”
Zhang Zhanshuo, ۱۹
China: Swimming
Zhang held up seven fingers after his ۴۰۰m freestyle win to count out his gold medals at the Games – the most at this edition, and more than what ۲۷ of the ۴۵ participating nations had in their medal tally at the conclusion of the event.
He set Games records in the ۴۰۰m and ۸۰۰m freestyle, an Asian record in the ۲۰۰m, and helped power China to gold and Asian records in the men’s ۴x۱۰۰m and ۴x۲۰۰m freestyle relays.
But the ۱۹-year-old has bigger victories in sight.
“The Asian Games is not the goal. I’m still aiming for the Olympics and competing with the best,” he said.
The teenager’s haul helped China sign off from swimming with ۳۰ golds out of ۴۱ medal events in the pool, with chief rival Japan a distant second with seven titles.
Shin Ohashi, ۱۷
Japan: Swimming
Ohashi broke the world record in the men’s ۲۰۰m breaststroke (۲:۰۴.۸۳) in front of a home crowd to become the first swimmer under the ۲:۰۵ mark.
The gold added to his title in the ۱۰۰m breaststroke shared with China’s Dong Zhihao, bronze in the ۵۰m breaststroke, and silver in the mixed and men’s ۴x۱۰۰m medley relays.
The teenager said he was surprised and honoured that Olympic champion Leon Marchand knew who he was, after the Frenchman described the ۱۷-year-old as a “scary” prospect ahead of the ۲۰۲۸ Los Angeles Olympics.
“I respect him because I know just how strong he is. But if I want to win, he’s someone I know I’ll have to beat.”
Ohashi’s world record performance came just a week after the teenager recovered from COVID-۱۹.
Yan Ziyi, ۱۸
China: Athletics
Yan was already javelin world number one and Asian record holder when she stepped onto the field for her Games debut – her first and only throw of ۷۰.۴۶ metres was enough for gold and a Games record.
It was the sixth-best of all time and well ahead of Olympic champion and home hero Haruka Kitaguchi’s ۶۲.۷۰m.
Yan is closing in on the world record of ۷۲.۲۸m set by Barbora Spotakova in ۲۰۰۸. In May, she hurled a world-leading, record-breaking ۷۱.۷۴m to open an unprecedented season.
Chen Yujie, ۱۷
China: Athletics
Chen stormed to a new Games record in the women’s ۱۰۰m en route to her first gold as she announced herself as the new sprint queen in Asia.
“I have no limits,” was her response when asked how much faster she hopes to run.
She followed up her podium finish with a silver in the ۲۰۰m and gold in the women’s and mixed ۴x۱۰۰m relays.
Taiju Goto, ۱۷
Japan: Athletics
Goto narrowly missed gold in the men’s ۴۰۰m hurdles, but his ۴۷.۹۳s was enough for a world under-۱۸ best time, Asian under-۲۰ best time, and a new personal best.
The teen star has run sub-۵۰ seconds eight times this season alone, an impressive feat for a ۱۷-year-old. His Asian Games silver added to the World Under-۲۰ one he bagged in August.
Kumkum Mohod, ۱۷
India: Archery
Mohod scripted history for India when she became the first Indian to win an individual recurve archery gold at the Games. The ۱۷-year-old helped India to gold in the women’s team recurve, and partnered with Dhiraj Bommadevara for mixed team silver.
Mohod’s gold was no stroke of luck; she defeated South Korea’s reigning world champion and Olympic medallist Kang Chaeyoung in the quarterfinals before dominating China’s Zhu Jingyi in the semifinals.
“Ever since I’ve made it to the national team, I’ve been visualising this moment. I had visualised shooting an X, and that is exactly what happened,” she told reporters after the match, according to Indian media.
Anahat Singh, ۱۸
India: Squash
World junior champion Anahat Singh has been India’s finest in the sport for several years now. Despite only being ۱۸, Aichi-Nagoya was Singh’s second Asian Games outing after competing at Hangzhou ۲۰۲۳, where she won two bronze medals in the mixed doubles and women’s team events.
This time round, she won a silver in the women’s singles against world number five Sivasangari Subramaniam of Malaysia. However, her semifinal match against Japan’s Satomi Watanabe was what she called the “best win” of her career after producing a stellar comeback to defeat the world number six.
Yuki Kurihara, ۱۱
Japan: e-sports
At just ۱۱ years of age, e-sports prodigy Kurihara became the youngest gold medallist in Asian Games history when he won Puyo Puyo Champions.
“I’m really happy. The gold medal is really beautiful, shiny and heavy,” Kurihara said after his final, where he barely broke a sweat.
Kurihara started playing Puyo Puyo in his first year of primary school – where he still studies – and soon started competing and winning in tournaments. He obtained his pro licence in April this year and regularly beats adults, often triple his age.
![TOKONAME, JAPAN - SEPTEMBER 26: Gold medalist Yuki Kurihara of Japan poses on the podium at the medal ceremony for the Esports Puzzle [Puyo Puyo Champions] on day seven of the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya at Aichi Sky Expo on September 26, 2026 in Tokoname, Aichi, Japan. Kurihara becomes the youngest gold medalist at the Asian Games at the age of 11. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Getty Images)](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/getty_6ac2424a21-1791115850.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
Ku Yong-yan, ۱۲
Taipei: Skateboarding
Ku took silver in the men’s skateboarding park with ۸۷.۳۳ points, and was just one of several teenagers – in his case, a pre-teen – who medalled in skateboarding at the Games.
Japan’s Izuru Nagahara, ۱۵, took gold in the event. China’s Zhu Yuanling, also ۱۵, won gold in the women’s street skateboarding competition.
China’s Cao Shiqi finished fourth in women’s skateboarding park and was the youngest athlete in China’s delegation at the Games.
