7-SEAG golds planong ubusin ni yulo

MANILA, Philippines — Matapos angkinin ang makasaysayang gold medal sa katatapos na 49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships sa Stuttgart, Germany ay nakatutok naman si Filipino gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo sa pagdomina sa darating na 30th Southeast Asian Games.

Pitong events ang nakalatag sa men’s gymnastics competition na lalahukan ng 19-anyos na si Yulo sa 2019 SEA Games na nakatakda sa Nobyembre 30 hanggang Disyembre 11.

Ito ang unang pagkakataon na sasabak si Yulo sa SEA Games.

“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,” wika ni Gymnastics Association of the Philippines secretary general Bettina Pou kay Yulo. “We would tell Caloy to give the best he can and the victory would definitely follow.”

Inangkin ni Yulo ang gold medal sa men’s floor exercise para maging unang Pinoy na nagkampeon sa Gymnastics World Championships.

Nangako si Philippine Sports Commission chairman William “Butch” Ramirez ng solidong suporta kay Yulo, ang ikalawang Pinoy athlete na nag-qualify sa 2020 Olympic Games sa Tokyo, Japan matapos si pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena.

Sina Yulo, Obiena at 2016 Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz ay bibigyan ng PSC ng phy-siotherapist, sports nutritionist at sports psychologist bilang paghahanda sa 2019 SEA Games at sa 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“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,” wika ni Ramirez, tatayong Chief of Mission ng Team Philippines para sa nasabing biennial meet.

 Kamakalawa ay nagbigay ang sports agency kay Yulo ng cash incentives na P1 milyon.

“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,” ani Ramirez.

Sinabi naman ni Pou na dapat paghusayan ni Yulo ang kanyang performance sa pommel horse at parallel bars na nakaapek- to sa kanyang tsansa sa gold medal sa all-around category ng nakaraang world championships.

“The Vietnamese perform well in those apparatuses. We don’t want to give them a chance,” sabi ni Pou sa magiging karibal ni Yulo para sa gintong medalya sa 2019 SEA Games.