Ikee Rikako named 'Most Valuable Player' of Asian Games

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Japanese swimmer Ikee Rikako has been named as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the recently-concluded 18th edition of the Asian Games.

The 18-year-old, who bagged six gold and two silver medals in the tournament, became the first female athlete to win the MVP title.

Reflecting on her achievement, Rikako said that this is for the first time that she has received any international honour, adding that she would now look to continue with her winning momentum in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"This is the first time I received such an international award. After Asian Games 2018, I will prepare myself for the Tokyo Olympics and achieve the best for my country," Rikako said.

She further said that Indonesia gave her a lot of good memories and that she would be glad to return back to this country in the coming future.

Rikako became the fourth Japanese athlete to win the MVP award since its inception during the 1998 Bangkok Games.

Besides giving MVP awards to athletes, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) also gave awards to creative young people who covered official theme song of Asian Games 2018, Meraih Bintang, in multiple languages.

These creative artists are Jannine Weigel (Thai cover), Jason Chen (Mandarin cover), Himmat to Pankh (Hindi cover), Aseel (Arabic cover), GTI Official (Korean cover), Hiroaki Kato (Japanese cover) and Alffy Rev (Indonesian cover).