Asian Games 2023: Six breakout stars including Puripol Boonson to pay attention to at Paris 2024
Olympics.com picks six young medallists from the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou in 2023 who could make a splash at Paris 2024, including the Thai sprint sensation.
After 15 official days of frenzied competition in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China, the 19th Asian Games have come to a close. For most, though not all, of the athletes who competed in the 2023 edition of the Asian Games, this was their last major championships ahead of the Olympic Games next year.
With Paris 2024 just nine months away, many young athletes left deep impressions on Zhejiang Province and the watching public, producing performances that mark themselves out as ones to watch in Paris.
From the likes of Puripol Boonson, who overcame an injury-hit season to take a stunning sprint silver, to 15-year-old skateboarder Kusaki Hinano, Olympics.com takes a look at six breakout stars – three men, three women – who could produce a repeat in the French capital. This list is ordered alphabetically by last name.
To take part at Paris 2024, athletes must be selected by their National Olympic Committee (NOC). NOCs have the final say as to whether these athletes will be selected to their respective NOC teams for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Puripol Boonson, 17, Thailand (athletics)
Boonson has had a difficult year with injury after pulling up in the men's 200m at May's Southeast Asian Games. While not exactly a breakthrough star in Hangzhou, the event he performed well in would certainly qualify as a breakout.
The longer 200m sprint has always appeared to be Boonson's pet event. But the 17-year-old star, nicknamed "Thep Bew", ran a 10.06 100m semi-final in Hangzhou en route to eventually claiming silver. That time equalled World Athletics' world under-18 best for the men's 100m.
If Thailand has a superstar who is already breaking 100m records at the tender age of 17, who knows what's to come in Paris?
Zaid Abdul Kareem, 22, Jordan (taekwondo)
Kareem leaves Hangzhou with silver in the men's 68kg weight category, but the Jordanian taekwondo player can count himself unlucky to have come up against reigning Olympic champion Ulugbek Rashitov of Uzbekistan (himself still just 21) in the final.
The 22-year-old is clearly in a tricky weight category, but has already proven to be able to triumph, winning the 2022 Grand Prix Final in Riyadh as well as reaching the quarter-finals at the last two World Championships. A Youth Olympic Games (YOG) bronze medallist from Buenos Aires 2018, the senior Olympic podium does not appear too far off for Kareem.
Kusaki Hinano, 15, Japan (skateboarding)
The 15-year-old was included on Olympics.com's pre-Games athletes to watch list, and lived up to it. Kusaki added to her growing list of achievements by winning the women's skateboard park event on her national team debut at a major championships.
Japan's national champion subsequently travelled from Hangzhou to Rome for the World Championships Park, where she qualified for the final and finished on the podium in second place behind Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Hiraki Cocona, further cementing her status as an athlete who will be among the contenders to watch in Paris.
Lim Si-hyeon, 20, Republic of Korea (archery)
At Tokyo 2020 in 2021, there was one break-out star in archery: Republic of Korea's An San, who won three golds in the women's individual, women's team, and mixed team events.
Well, here in Hangzhou, her teammate Lim Si-hyeon played spoiler, winning gold in all three categories including defeating An in the individual final with a stunning 6–0 set points whitewash.
Message well and truly sent to her more illustrious teammate that she will be a force to be reckoned with in Paris.
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, 22, India (shooting)
India's Tomar won four medals including two team golds, and set a new Asian record in qualifying in the men's 50m rifle three positions event. The 22-year-old was 21st in Tokyo, but has clearly made big strides since.
In addition to his exploits in the 50m rifle 3P, he also won team gold and individual silver in the 10m air rifle. With three World Cup wins under his belt in the 50m 3P in the last three years, Tomar can not be counted out in the French capital next year.
Zhang Mingyu, 22, People's Republic of China (modern pentathlon)
Aged just 22, Zhang already has three Asian Games gold medals in modern pentathlon after winning both individual and team gold on the very first day of the 19th Asian Games for hosts China. (In fact, she was still 21 when she accomplished this feat.)
She was just 16 in 2018 when she won individual gold in Jakarta in 2018, and the Tokyo 2020 Olympian is clearly going from strength to strength as she grows older and matures into an all-around pentathlete.
Her winning total in Hangzhou of 1406 points put her just 37 behind the world record, and that total would have been enough for gold in Tokyo (Zhang scored 1268 in the Japanese capital).