Young Japanese star steals the spotlight

Kurihara (11), after defeating a series of competitors, some of whom were nearly three times his age, said: "Honestly, I felt a little shy, so I couldn't really show my expressions or change my facial features much."

Kurihara, who says he eats eel in preparation for competitions, bowed slightly while receiving the gold medal and waved his hand lightly.

He said: "I am very happy. The gold medal is very beautiful, shiny, and heavy."

Asian Games organizers admitted they were "not satisfied" with ticket sales following limited attendance at the main athletics stadium during the 100-meter finals.

The Games announced that less than 60 percent of tickets for eight sports, including football and the closing ceremony, had been sold.

Satoshi Murati, Secretary General of the Games Organizing Committee, said in response to a question from Agence France-Presse regarding spectator numbers: "We are not satisfied."

He added that some tickets granted to sponsors and other stakeholders were not used: "Seats were allocated, but some people could not attend. As a result, there are visible empty seats at some competitions, and we find that regrettable."

The Games also apologized for transportation and accommodation issues that caused some athletes to wait for hours.

Murati admitted: "There were errors in accommodation and transportation for various reasons.

Whatever the reason, the organizing committee is responsible for providing the service, and I offer a sincere apology for these errors."

Gold after 16 years of silver

Weightlifting competitions saw six new world records set, bringing the total number of records at the Games to 15, after North Korean Ri Won-ju won the men's 70kg gold, his country's fifth out of seven categories held so far.

Japanese Masanori Miyamoto set a new world record in the snatch by lifting 154kg, but settled for silver after Ri lifted 198kg in the clean and jerk to set a world record, totaling 349kg, which is also a new world record.

In the men's 75kg, Indonesian Rahmat Erwin Abdullah won gold for the second consecutive time after setting a world record in the clean and jerk (206kg) and a world record in the total (366kg).

Abdullah had won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics and gold at the Hangzhou Games three years ago, both in the 73kg category.

North Korean Ri Chong-song, the Hangzhou champion in the 81kg category, also set a world record in the snatch of 162kg at the start of yesterday's competitions.

However, his weight cut affected him, as he failed his last two attempts in the clean and jerk and fell to third place with a total of 357kg, behind Thai Olympic silver medalist Weeraphon Wichuma, who recorded 365kg.

Host nation Japan achieved success in the men's marathon when Ichitaka Yamashita took the lead about six kilometers from the finish line.

Yamashita crossed the finish line inside the athletics stadium with a time of 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 49 seconds, 48 seconds ahead of Indian Sawan Barwal (2:11.37), while Chinese Feng Peiyu took the bronze with a time of 2:12.13.

In the women's marathon, Bahraini Shitaye Eshete finally won the Asian Games gold 16 years after winning silver in the 10,000 meters at the Guangzhou Games.

The mother of three outperformed Chinese Xia Yuyu and Japanese Mikuni Yada, crossing the finish line in 2:27.31 hours.

Eshete said: "Maybe it's time to stop. I am 36 years old, but my goal in my last participation will be the World Championships (2027)."

She continued: "I have three children, and my second son told me: 'Mom, don't run.' He wants me at home. But he will be very happy now."

The International Testing Agency also announced that a second participant in the Games had failed a doping test.

The sample of Turkmen karateka Dayanch Kelitliyev tested positive for the banned substance "meldonium" in a test conducted out-of-competition on September 20.

He had lost in the round of 32 of the kumite competition the following day.