At 13, Yu Zidi becomes the Asian Games’ youngest MVP as Puripol wins for Thailand

One is 13 and races through water. The other is 20 and covers a running track in a blur. On October 4, Yu Zidi and Puripol Boonson shared the spotlight as the Asian Games named their most valuable athletes.

The Olympic Council of Asia announced China's Yu as the female MVP and Thailand's Puripol as the male MVP. Each award carries a prize of US$25,000, recognising performances across the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

Three races, three golds

Yu won the women's 200-metre butterfly, 200-metre individual medley and 400-metre individual medley. She set a Games record in each event, with her 2:06.10 in the shorter medley also breaking the Asian record.

Her butterfly victory came in 2:05.08, while she completed the longer medley in 4:28.56. An individual medley tests versatility across all four swimming strokes. Those are three different races, not three versions of the same challenge. The medley requires a swimmer to move through butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle within one race.

The organising committee's award report identifies Yu as the youngest MVP in the Games' history. It placed the ceremony at the Main Media Centre on the final day.

Spanish sports newspaper AS reported that Yu credited repeated hard work rather than describing herself as a genius. She said she wanted to keep improving and encourage more young people to enjoy swimming.

Thailand gets a first

Puripol's award recognised a sprint double. He won the 100 metres in 9.90 seconds and the 200 metres in 19.88, the latter equalling the Asian record. He also collected silver in the mixed 4x100-metre relay.

Khaosod English reported that he became the first Thai athlete to win the MVP honour. He thanked his family, coaches and supporters, and said he wanted to keep taking Thai athletics onto the world stage.

That gives the award meaning beyond another trophy. For young athletes watching from Thailand, a sprinter from home has been recognised across an event featuring many countries and many sports.

The next step still has to be earned

The OCA's awards panel praised both athletes and pointed towards the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 as a possible next stage in their progress. That is an expression of confidence, not a prediction of Olympic medals.

Records tell us what happened on a particular day. Awards recognise the impact of those performances. What follows still takes training, health and more competition. For Yu and Puripol, Nagoya has supplied a remarkable starting point for the next chapter.