Puripol Boonson wins Asian Games men’s MVP honour
Thailand’s sprinter will receive US$25,000 after winning two individual gold medals and a relay silver at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
Two sprint gold medals at Aichi-Nagoya 2026 have earned Thailand’s Puripol Boonson the men’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) honour. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) selected him following his victories over 100m and 200m, with the presentation set for 4 October.
Both victories produced Asian Games records. Puripol’s 200m time of 19.88 seconds equalled the Asian record, while his participation in Thailand’s mixed 4x100m relay brought him a silver medal alongside his individual titles.
The award comes with US$25,000 in prize money. Since the MVP honour was introduced in 1998, no athlete outside China, Japan or South Korea had received the men’s award before Puripol.
The OCA recognises a male and a female athlete at each edition of the Games. It has not publicly named the women’s winner for Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
Bangkok hosted the Games when the MVP prize debuted in 1998 as one award. The categories were divided by gender in 2022, when China’s Qin Haiyang received the men’s honour and Zhang Yufei the women’s.
