Teen stars light up Asian Games 2026: from a 13-year-old swimming sensation to an 11-year-old esports prodigy

Teenage athletes became the focal point of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, winning historic gold medals for their countries, breaking records and asserting themselves on the continental stage. Far from being overawed by rivals twice or three times their age, many schoolchildren competed with composure and took gold on their Asian Games debut.

Yu Zidi, 13 – Swimming (China)

At 13, Yu Zidi was voted the Games' best female athlete (MVP) after winning three gold medals and breaking three Asian Games records on her debut. She took gold in the 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley, each time finishing with a comfortable margin. Her 2:06.10 in the 200m medley is a youth world record and the second-fastest time in history.

"I don't think I'm the prodigy everyone describes me as," she said after receiving the MVP award. "I will keep training hard, pushing myself and standing alongside young Asian athletes to inspire more young people to love and take up sport, especially swimming."

Zhang Zhanshuo, 19 – Swimming (China)

Zhang Zhanshuo held up seven fingers after his 400m freestyle victory to count his gold medals at these Games – the most of any athlete and more than the total gold haul of 27 of the 45 participating nations when the Games closed. He set Asian Games records in the 400m and 800m freestyle and an Asian record in the 200m, and helped China win gold and Asian records in the men's 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays.

But the 19-year-old has bigger goals in mind. "The Asian Games are not the destination. I'm still aiming for the Olympics and competing against the best," he said.

Zhang's performances helped China close the swimming programme with 30 golds out of 41 events, far ahead of main rival Japan (seven golds).

Shin Ohashi, 17 – Swimming (Japan)

Shin Ohashi broke the world record in the men's 200m breaststroke with 2:04.83 in front of a home crowd, becoming the first swimmer to go under 2:05. That gold followed his 100m breaststroke title (shared gold with China's Dong Zhihao), bronze in the 50m breaststroke and silver in the mixed and men's 4x100m medley relays.

The teenager said he was surprised and honoured that Olympic champion Leon Marchand knew of him, after the Frenchman called him a "formidable" rival ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. "I respect him because I understand how strong he is. But if I want to win, he is the one I know I will have to beat," Ohashi said. His world record came just a week after he recovered from COVID-19.

Yan Ziyi, 18 – Athletics (China)

Yan Ziyi was already the world's top-ranked javelin thrower and Asian record holder before her Asian Games debut. Her single throw of 70.46m was enough for gold and an Asian Games record. It ranks sixth in history and left Olympic champion and home favourite Haruka Kitaguchi (62.70m) far behind. Yan is closing in on Barbora Spotakova's 2008 world record of 72.28m; in May she threw 71.74m, the world-leading mark and a record.

Chen Yujie, 17 – Athletics (China)

Chen Yujie set a new Asian Games record in the women's 100m on her way to a first gold, cementing her status as Asia's new sprint queen. Asked how fast she wanted to run, she replied: "I have no limits." She went on to take 200m silver and gold in the women's and mixed 4x100m relays.

Taiju Goto, 17 – Athletics (Japan)

Taiju Goto narrowly missed gold in the men's 400m hurdles, but his 47.93 seconds was enough for a world under-18 best, an Asian under-20 record and a new personal best. The young athlete has run under 50 seconds eight times this season – an impressive feat for a 17-year-old. His Asian Games silver followed a silver at the World U20 Championships in August.

Kumkum Mohod, 17 – Archery (India)

Kumkum Mohod made history for India by becoming the country's first archer to win an individual recurve gold at the Asian Games. The 17-year-old helped India win the women's team recurve gold and partnered Dhiraj Bommadevara to mixed team silver. Mohod's victory was no fluke: she beat reigning world champion and South Korean Olympic medallist Kang Chaeyoung in the quarter-finals before overwhelming China's Zhu Jingyi in the semi-finals.

"Since I joined the national team, I have imagined this moment. I pictured myself hitting the X, and it happened exactly like that," she told Indian media after the match.

Anahat Singh, 18 – Squash (India)

Anahat Singh, a junior world champion, has been India's best squash player for years. Though only 18, Aichi-Nagoya was her second Asian Games after Hangzhou 2023, where she won two bronzes in the mixed doubles and women's team. This time she took silver in the women's singles after losing to Sivasangari Subramaniam (Malaysia, world No. 5). However, she called her semi-final against Satomi Watanabe (Japan) the "best win" of her career, a spectacular comeback against the world No. 6.

Yuki Kurihara, 11 – Esports (Japan)

At 11, esports prodigy Yuki Kurihara became the youngest gold medallist in Asian Games history by winning the Puyo Puyo Champions title. "I'm very happy. The gold medal is really beautiful, shiny and heavy," Kurihara said after a final in which he was barely troubled. Kurihara began playing Puyo Puyo in first grade and quickly entered competitions, winning titles. He earned his professional licence in April this year and regularly beats adults three times his age.

Ku Yong-yan, 12 – Skateboarding (Chinese Taipei)

Ku Yong-yan won silver in the men's park skateboarding with 87.33 points, among a host of teenage medallists in the sport at these Games. Izuru Nagahara (15, Japan) took gold in the event, while Zhu Yuanling (15, China) won the women's street skateboarding title. China's Cao Shiqi finished fourth in the women's park and was the youngest member of the Chinese delegation at the Games.