Various sporting achievements: Yuki Kurihara wins Asian Games gold, and medical crises in tennis

Japanese Yuki Kurihara, 11 years old, won the gold medal in electronic games at the Asian Games on Saturday in impressive style, after crushing a series of competitors three times his age.

The bespectacled elementary school student, believed to be the youngest participant in the games in Aichi-Nagoya, won the final of the puzzle game “Puyo Puyo Heroes” with a score of 10-2.

He is the youngest athlete for host country Japan in the history of the Asian Games.

“Puyo Puyo” is a sport in “E-Sports” in which players try to clear the screen of colored dots by arranging them in rows and removing them.

Kurihara seemed calm throughout, as he worked his way to gold with a series of impressive performances.

On his way, he defeated the Thai Tanarak Wongkitkun, 28 years old, and a veteran for his age, with a score of 10-1 in the semi-finals, to secure at least the silver medal.

In the final, he barely smiled after defeating South Korean Kang Dongshin (24 years old), despite trailing 0-1 at the beginning.

Kurihara began playing the sport in his first year of elementary school, and soon began competing and winning tournaments.

He obtained his professional license in April of this year, and is accustomed to regularly beating adult players.

He said before the games: “It is difficult to balance it with school and remedial classes, but it (competing in the game) is very fun.”

He added: “Now it's summer vacation, so I have plenty of time to train. “I want to train a lot and develop some new strengths.”

There are no records available regarding the youngest medalists in the history of the Asian Games, which were first held in 1951.

But Indonesian Bunga Nimas won the bronze medal in women's skateboarding at the age of 12 in Jakarta in 2018.

Chinese Cui Chenxi (13 years old) won the gold medal in the women's board competition, three years ago in Hangzhou.

Russian Tatiana Prozorova said that her withdrawal from the semi-final of the Singapore Open came after “pressure” from a physiotherapist affiliated with the Women’s Tennis Association, who diagnosed her with a concussion after she was hit by a ball.

The tournament organizers said that Prozorova (22 years old) withdrew from the singles competition this week due to injury, which led to Australian Talia Gibson qualifying for the final without playing the match.

This announcement came after Prozorova and her colleague Sofia Lanceri withdrew from the quarter-final match in the doubles on Friday, after Prozorova was hit in the face by a ball.

“The physiotherapist who was summoned to the stadium insisted on taking me off the field for a certain test,” Prozorova wrote. Unfortunately, I didn't know I could say no. The test was not easy. Given that I spent more than 3 hours on the field every day during the past three days, I was suffering from fatigue, and I had difficulty in some exercises, such as standing on one foot with my eyes closed.

She added: “My team and I had a lengthy discussion with the organizers. The physiotherapist put pressure on everyone present and even claimed that I was unable to take responsibility for my life.”

She said that the tournament organizers supported her desire to continue playing, but the final decision rested with the WTA.

The WTA said Prozorova was evaluated by her on-site medical team and the tournament doctor, and that concussion protocols are in place to protect players' safety.

A federation spokesman told Reuters: “Under the federation’s physical incapacity rule and concussion protocol, a player diagnosed with a concussion is not permitted to participate in competitions, and will be deemed physically unable to do so.”

He added: “The player may not return to competition until she successfully completes the required gradual return protocol and obtains the appropriate medical approval.”

Reaching the semi-finals in Singapore was the best achievement in her career.

The Spanish Carlos Alcarras contributed to the European team leading the world team 3-1, on the first day of the Laver Cup tennis tournament, held in the British capital, London, by winning with the Czech Jakub Menchik in the doubles competition.

The world number three, who is playing only his second tournament since his return from a 4-month absence due to injury, gave a remarkable performance under the watchful eyes of legends Rod Laver and Roger Federer. He and Menchik defeated Kazakh Alexander Bublik and American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4.

Alcarras intends to play fewer tournaments in the future, blaming the “impossible” tennis calendar for the increasing number of injuries in the game.

But the winner of seven major titles said before the start of the competitions that “love” for group competitions helps him “restore my happiness on the court and restore my happiness in playing tennis.”

Alkaras and Menchik seemed in their best spirits; One break of serve was enough in each set to give Europe the advantage on the opening day.

The French European team captain, Yannick Noah Alcarras, and the German Alexander Zverev, the Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows champion, were left on the bench earlier on Friday.

Norwegian Casper Ruud gave the first point in the tournament after he narrowly defeated Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 10-8 in a decisive tiebreaker.

American Brandon Nakashima responded for the world team, defeating Menchik in a tiebreak after sharing the first two sets.

Rising Spanish player Rafael Khodar was more convincing in his first appearance in the Laver Cup, defeating Bublik 6-2, 6-3.

The team that first reaches 13 points in the tournament held over 3 days at the O2 Hall in London will be crowned champion.

Each win is worth one point on Friday, two points on Saturday, and three points on Sunday.

The World Team holds the title of this tournament, which was launched by the Swiss Federer in 2017. But Europe still leads the champions’ record, having won the title 5 times in 8 editions.

This year, the European team is led by Yannick Noah, while American Andre Agassi takes over the leadership of the world team.