Carlos Yulo to kick off world title defense in Japan next week

After a modest campaign in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Carlos Yulo will eye redemption when he defends his title in the 50th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championship in Kitakyushu, Japan next week.

The 21-year-old ace from Malate, Manila will try to retain the gold medal in the floor exercise he won in the 2019 edition in Stuttgart, Germany, where he also emerged as the first Filipino to snare a world title.

The qualifications round is slated from October 19 and 20 while the all-around and apparatus finals are set from the 22nd to 24th.

The competition will be Yulo's chance to make up for his no-medal finish in the recent Summer Games, where he was unable to advance to the final round of five apparatus, including his pet floor event.

He made it to the next round of the vault exercise but the wunderkind fell just short of the podium after finishing fourth with a final tally of 14.716.

Yulo, though, will be marching to the world championships with a big boost as he was able to bag twin medals last month in the 2021 All-Japan Senior & Masters Gymnastics Championship in Yamagata.

He captured gold in the men's floor exercise, where he scored 15.30, and bronze in vault, where he registered 15.00.

—JMB, GMA News