Double Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo advanced to three apparatus finals while younger brother Eldrew also secured two final berths as the Philippines opened its campaign in men’s artistic gymnastics at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.
Carlos led the way by topping the floor exercise qualification with 14.600 points, posting a 5.7 difficulty score and 8.900 in execution. The Paris Olympic champion also made the final in the parallel bars after placing sixth with 14.266 points.
He likewise secured a spot in the vault final despite an error on his opening attempt, when he failed to land the routine and fell.
“Sobrang challenging today. Hindi ito yung in-expect ko na preparation ko. Hindi siya lumabas talaga today. Although yung sa pommel horse okay pa naman ako. Yung sa vault hindi ko… Hindi ko siya matanggap kanina,” he said.
Yulo admitted that the mistakes were difficult to process, particularly after falling on his first vault attempt and later missing the bar during his horizontal bar routine.
“Hindi yun yung tamang pag-grab, and nung nalaglag ako, I was really disappointed. But at the same time, thankful and grateful na safe ako kanina kasi yung ganung pagkakamali, pwedeng matapos na yung career na meron ako,” he said.
“Sa high bar din, nahulog ako. After how many years po kasi, tinigil ko yung skill na yun. And then binalik ko siya ulit just to challenge po yung sarili ko and mas makapag-look ng ibang perspective,” Yulo explained.
(C) POC Media Group
Despite the setbacks, Carlos said he remained thankful for the opportunity to compete for the Philippines and finish the day safely.
“It’s just really ano trial and error pa din. And at the end of the day, I still did what I, um — what’s my ano po, yung best ng makakaya ko,” he shared.
Carlos ended the individual all-around qualification in 10th place with 75.465 points.
Eldrew, meanwhile, booked his place in the floor exercise final after ranking fourth with 13.966 points.
The younger Yulo also advanced in the horizontal bar despite finishing ninth in the qualification with 13.433 points. Under the qualification rules, only two gymnasts from each National Olympic Committee can advance to an apparatus final, allowing Eldrew to secure a spot.
He finished eighth in the individual all-around standings with 77.264 points.
“Ang nafe-feel ko po is grateful dahil lahat kami is safe, and of course, super proud din ako sa nangyari kanina. And dahil well may mga bagay din ako na hindi nagawa tulad ng pommel, sa rings, and of course sa p-bar. But I keep telling myself na change mood to change mood every time na nagcha-change kami ng apparatus to feel the other energy,” Eldrew said.
Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Miguel Besana also advanced to the vault final after placing fourth in the qualification with 13.933 points.
As a team, the Philippines finished sixth in the qualification with 232.093 points.
