With the Philippine Sports Commission throwing its full support, Carlos Yulo is looking at taking the 30th Southeast Asian Games by storm.
Gymnastics Association of the Philippines secretary general Bettina Pou said Yulo is eyeing a sweep all of his seven events in the men’s gymnastics competition of the SEA Games following his golden conquest in the 49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
The teen sensation cornered the gold medal in the floor exercise event to become the first Filipino to emerge victorious in the biggest, most competitive gymnastics competition in the world.
Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez vowed to give Yulo all the support he needs, including the formation of a team of physiotherapist, sports nutritionist and sports psychologist to monitor his buildup for the SEA Games and the Tokyo Olympics next year.
The government will also dole out a cash incentive of P1 million for his victorious performance in the world championships.
“The government will go all out in supporting Caloy and other deserving athletes as they prepare for the SEA Games and the Olympics next year,” said Ramirez, who also stands as chief of mission of Team Philippines in the prestigious biennial meet that the country will host this November.
“The PSC has been supporting the training of Caloy in Japan for the past couple of years. We’re planning to further increase that level of support because we believe that he has what it takes to make us proud in the SEA Games and the Olympics next year.”
This would be the first time for the 19-year-old Yulo to compete in the SEA Games.
His first tournaments as a member of the senior’s team were the world championships in Doha and the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta last year.
Pou said there is no doubt that Yulo can make the country proud in his SEA Games debut.
“His performance in the world championships was very impressive. If luck rolls his way, he can win all seven gold medals in men’s gymnastics,” said Pou, the trusted deputy of gymnastics federation president Cynthia Carrion.
Pou said he expects Yulo to work harder on further improving his performance in pommel horse and parallel bars, knowing that these two apparatuses hurt his bid for a gold medal in the all-around category of the world championships.
“The Vietnamese perform well in those apparatuses. We don’t want to give them a chance,” said Pou, adding that they won’t pressure the Filipino dynamo as he heads to the 11-nation conclave.
“While we’re hoping for a sweep, we won’t pressure him to go for it. All we want is for him to enjoy what he’s doing and have fun competing. We would tell Caloy to give the best he can and the victory would definitely follow.”