MANILA, Philippines – Carlos Yulo‘s stunning rise to an unprecedented double-gold coup in the 2024 Paris Olympics seemed to send shockwaves not only across the Philippine sports landscape, but over the rest of Southeast Asia as well.
Eager to see if it has its own set of wonder boys and girls in its midst, Thailand has tapped the services of the man who had the vision of a world-class Yulo long before the world at large took notice: former gymnast and coach Munehiro Kugimiya.
“The Gymnastics Association of Thailand has invited Mr. Munehiro Kugimiya, Japanese coach of Carlos Edriel Yulo, a 2-time gold medalist from the Paris Olympic Games, to teach and introduce techniques to the Thai national men’s gymnastics team between August 12 to 21,” the association wrote on Facebook.
Still far from Olympic contention shape, Thailand is seeking to improve its regional chances first and foremost as it is riding a nine-year gold-medal drought in Southeast Asian (SEA) Games artistic gymnastics.
Save from a sprinkling of Indonesian and Malaysian champions, only the Philippines and Vietnam have dominated the medal races of the last decade, with Yulo alone having nine golds total since the 2019 edition – the last being two titles in the 2023 individual all-around and parallel bars events.
Although Kugimiya and Yulo ended their partnership also in 2023, the 24-year-old Filipino superstar insisted he will always be grateful and indebted to his former Japanese mentor, who has been by his side for almost half his life.
In fact, “Coach Mune” and Yulo still have a promise to each other that should the latter win golds in Paris, the two of them would bring the awards to Japan and thank many other people and organizations who have been a part of their difficult, yet ultimately fruitful journey.
It remains to be seen whether or not Yulo will still fulfill his former coach’s wishes upon his arrival back home in Manila on Tuesday, August 13.
As for Kugimiya, he now heads to Thailand to perhaps find another golden boy, or at the very least, share the wealth of knowledge around to help craft a new golden chapter the Thais now seek to write. – Rappler.com
