For a while, Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya toyed with the idea of entering his prized ward, gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo, at the 2022 Summer World University scheduled June 26 to July 7 in Chengdu city in the Chinese province of Sichuan.

But after checking Yulo's tight schedule, Kugimiya thought better of it and decided that the athlete should be focused on the Asian championships slated June 15 to 18 in Doha, Qatar since it was a qualifying competition for the world championships in Liverpool, England in October.

“Dapat po ako mag-tapat, mag-top 5 sa men’s all-around event sa Asian championships para mag-qualify sa world competition muli (I need to make it to the top 5 of the men’s all-around event at the Asian championships so I can qualify again for the worlds),” Yulo explained during the inauguration of the MVP Sports Foundation Gymnastics Center in Manila last Saturday.

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Out of the country since the 2019 30th Southeast Asian Games, the back-to-back world gymnastics champion was back for a short vacation in the Philippines to witness the opening of the new home of the national teams of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines, the sport’s national governing body, inside historic Intramuros.

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He arrived March 1 from his training base in Tokyo, with Kugimiya and physiotherapist Junpei Konno, but they had to head back to the Japanese capital early Sunday morning since he was scheduled to graduate with a degree in the humanities at Teikyo University early this week.

No less than Japanese International Gymnastics Federation president Morinari Watanabe graced the ribbon-cutting ceremonies of the new gym together commissioner Celia Kiram of the Philippine Sports Commission; International Olympic Committee executive board member Mikee Cojuangco, the IOC representative to the country; and MVP Sports Foundation executive director Jude Turcuato.

“The pandemic has been a challenge for our national teams to train so we are grateful to the MVP Sports Foundation and the PSC that they now have a new home,” said GAP president Cynthia Carrion at the inauguration of the new facility.

Yulo found the conditions of the new gym to his liking, saying: “Mas maayos at malinis naman po sa old gym sa Rizal Memorial. At malaking bagay din ito sa mga ibang national athletes na natigil ng training dahil sa pandemic. (The gym is fine and cleaner from our old gym at the Rizal Memorial. This is a big deal for the other national athletes whose training was disrupted by the pandemic).”

Kugimiya, who has been the Pygmalion to Yulo’s Galatea, said the gymnast had more than a fair chance of making it in the top 5 in the men’s all-around event at the Asian meet, and possibly even a podium finish in the Qatari capital given the right breaks.

“Posible podium finish (a podium finish is possible),” the Japanese tactician, who has learned the Filipino language since taking over the helm of the national team in 2015, said.

Yulo’s morale will certainly be high when he sees action at the Asian meet, bouncing back with a vengeance after a sub-par outing at the Tokyo Olympic Games in snaring the men’s vault gold and silver in the parallel bars in the 40th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan in October.

Before that, however, he will see action first at the 31st Vietnam Southeast Asian Games slated May 12 to May 23 at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi and neighboring areas.

The diminutive dynamo will try stamp his class once again in the regional meet, hoping to surpass his haul of 2 gold and 5 silver medals to emerge as the country’s most bemedalled performer in his grand debut at the 30th SEA Games at the heritage-rich Rizal Memorial Coliseum 3 years ago.

Also in his packed schedule is the Hangzhou Asian Games in China in September where he will also want to make an impression after his forgettable Asiad stint in Jakarta in 2018.

Opening his competition season will be the All-Japan Gymnastics Individual Championships from April 21 to 24 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Kugimiya said these tournaments were enough to prime up the Filipino gymnastic phenom for another all-out assault at the 41st FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships scheduled October 16 to 25 in Liverpool, hometown of the legendary British band the Beatles.

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The Japanese coach said they were training hard for a crack at a medal in the men’s all-around event while Yulo was likewise keen on regaining his floor exercise crown that he won in the 2019 edition held in Stuttgart, Germany.

The Filipino flubbed in his pet event in Kitakyushu after tumbling out of the mat for an early exit in the preliminaries.

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