Southeast Asian Games – Artistic Gymnastics – Olympic Marquee, Phnom Penh, Cambodia – May 8, 2023 Philippines’ Carlos Yulo in action during the men’s qualification. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
PHNOM PENH—Carlos Yulo instantly zoomed into hyperfocus after grabbing the bars on the way to collecting his second gold medal at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games on Tuesday.
The two-time world champion got the nod of the judges with 14.850 points to rule men’s parallel bars after a silver finish earlier in the rings.
“I got challenged when Ivan (Cruz) and Miguel (Besana) won gold medals. I also wanted to get a gold of my own today,” said Yulo, who earlier topped the individual all-around and led the men’s team to a silver on Monday.
Yulo became the country’s first double-gold performer in the SEA Games after getting back at Vietnam’s Phuong Thanh Dinh, who secured the gold in the rings and placed second in the p-bars with 14.400 points.
WATCH: Carlos Yulo's near-perfect routine in the men's parallel bars event at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games. #SEAGames2023 | @junavINQ pic.twitter.com/CZtlevV02g
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) May 9, 2023
Malaysia’s Ng Chun Chen scored 13.100 for the bronze.
The Filipino gymnastics ace brought home the most gold medals with five and two silvers for Team Philippines in the Vietnam edition last year.
He wasn’t able to duplicate the output, but the Japan-based Yulo was in a state of bliss just the same with two golds and a pair of silvers.
“I still feel blessed and happy for my teammates because of the medals that we’ve won,” said Yulo, whose next big tournament is the Asian championships in Singapore next month.