Tagaytay, Philippines, June 5, 2023: The President of the Philippine Olympic Committee, Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, believes the Philippines can match their gold medal performance from the 2018 Asian Games at Hangzhou this year – even without star gymnast Carlos "Caloy" Yulo.
The Philippines won four gold medals in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia in 2018 – two in golf, one in weightlifting and one in skateboarding – and all by female athletes.
Yulo, a world champion on floor exercise in 2019 and vault in 2021, would have been a big hope for gold in Hangzhou – but he will not be attending the 19th Asian Games due to a clash of dates with the 52nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.
The deciding factor is that the 2023 World Championships in Belgium will offer individual quota places for Paris 2024 – and qualifying for the Olympic Games is the top priority for Yulo.
“It is unfortunate that Yulo will not be competing in the Asian Games because the dates overlap with the World Championships,” the POC President said at a press conference following the Asian Games Fun Run in Tagaytay on Monday, June 5.
“But I still believe we can match or better the four gold medals from the last Asian Games, even without Yulo, as we have top athletes competing in several sports with chances of winning a gold medal.”
These include boxing, in which the Philippines won two silver medals and one bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, athletics through world No. 3 ranked men’s pole vaulter EJ Obiena, and weightlifting – the sport which provided the Philippines with its historic first gold medal at the Olympic Games by Hidilyn Diaz in Tokyo two years ago.
The Philippines will be taking around 420 athletes to the 19th Asian Games, which will run from September 23 to October 8, 2023 after being postponed by one year.
The 52nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships for men and women will be held in Antwerp from September 30 to October 8. Yulo, who won two gold and two silver medals at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia last month, will be hoping to clinch a third world championship gold medal while also booking his place at Paris 2024.