Thai Sprinter Puripol Boonson Wins Men's MVP at Nagoya Asian Games
SingTao · 2 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has announced the Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards for the Nagoya Asian Games, with Thailand's rising sprint star Puripol Boonson claiming the men's honour and China's teenage swimming prodigy Yu Zidi securing the women's title. The 20-year-old Thai shattered Asian Games records in both the 100m and 200m sprints to become the first athlete from Thailand and Southeast Asia to win the MVP award. Meanwhile, the 13-year-old Yu Zidi rewrote Asian Games and Asian records across three swimming disciplines to claim the youngest-ever women's MVP title, despite her countrywoman Zhang Zhanshuo's historic seven gold medals going unrewarded.
Key Points
- Thailand's Puripol Boonson (邦頌), 20, clinched the men's MVP with two gold medals and one silver, setting Asian Games records in both 100m (9.90 seconds) and 200m (19.88 seconds)
- China's Zhang Zhanshuo (張展碩) captured seven gold medals, tying the single-Games individual record, yet lost the MVP vote to Boonson
- China's Yu Zidi (于子迪), 13, became the youngest women's MVP in history, winning three gold medals and breaking two Asian records
- The OCA's five-member jury evaluates candidates based on gold count, world, Asian and Games records, with Boonson's record-breaking sprints proving decisive
- Each MVP receives USD 25,000 (approximately HK$195,000), with the award expanded to separate men's and women's categories since the 2022 Hangzhou Games
Why It Matters
Puripol Boonson's historic MVP victory shatters the long-standing dominance of athletes from China, Japan and South Korea in this award category, signalling a new era of competitiveness in Asian athletics . For Hong Kong, the outcome underscores the region's rapidly evolving sporting landscape, where emerging sprint powers are challenging traditional swimming powerhouses on the Asian Games stage.
Puripol Boonson's historic MVP victory shatters the long-standing dominance of athletes from China, Japan and South Korea in this award category, signalling a new era of competitiveness in Asian athletics . For Hong Kong, the outcome underscores the region's rapidly evolving sporting landscape, where emerging sprint powers are challenging traditional swimming powerhouses on the Asian Games stage.