Carlos Yulo torchbearer for SEA Games; Hidilyn Diaz, 5 others named flagbearers

Philippines’ Carlos Edriel Yulo poses with gold medal on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Men’s Floor event after the apparatus finals at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on October 12, 2019. (Photo by Thomas KIENZLE / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines–World champion gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo will be tapped to light the 30th Southeast Asian Games cauldron while six other athletes led by Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz will carry the flag during the opening ceremony.

Yulo has been designated torchbearer after the 19-year-old catapulted to instant fame for winning the men’s floor exercise gold medal in the FIG World Artistic Gymnastics Championship last month in Stuttgart, Germany.

Aside from Diaz, world champion lady boxer Nesthy Petecio and Asian champions EJ Obiena (pole vault) and Margielyn Didal (skateboarding) were likewise named flag-bearers along with judoka Kiyomi Watanabe and world champion silver medalist Eumir Marcial (boxing).

There was no formal announcement yet from the Philippine Olympic Committee, but word already came out that these athletes will hog the spotlight during the elaborate opening rites of the SEAG on Nov. 30 at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

Didal, an Asian Games gold medalist together with Diaz, recently proved that she’s world-class after topping the 2019 Exposure All Women’s Skateboarding Championships last week in Huntington Beach, California.

The skateboarding heroine from Cebu also ruled the Ladies Day Skate competition at The Berrics, a popular indoor skatepark in Los Angeles.

These two tournaments have boosted Didal’s confidence going into another Olympic ranking competition on Nov. 10 at Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

Obiena, a second-generation pole vaulter, became the first Filipino to qualify in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before Yulo joined him after advancing to the finals of the world championship.