PSC chief expects more Paris medals

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richard Bachmann lauded Carlos Yulo for winning the country’s second gold medal in the men’s floor exercise event in the Paris Olympics late Saturday at the Bercy Arena.

But Bachmann stressed that the job is far from over.

The PSC chief said Team Philippines still has a handful of athletes capable of adding to the golden harvest like pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena and boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas.

Villegas, in fact, just secured at least a bronze medal following a unanimous decision win over Wassila Lkhadiri of France in the quarterfinals of the women’s 50-kilogram event early Sunday (Manila time).

She will face Buze Nas Cakiroglu of Turkey in the semifinals for a chance to advance to the gold medal match.

Obiena, for his part, will be competing in the final round of the men’s pole vault event on Tuesday while Petecio is clashing with Xu Zichun of China in the quarterfinals of the women’s 57-kg event at press time.

Even Yulo still has a chance to make it a golden double as he is competing in the final round of vault apparatus also at press time.

If he nails it, the 24-year-old Yulo will go down as the only Filipino athlete to win two gold medals in the same edition of the Summer Games.

“The whole nation is very proud of Carlos Yulo’s golden performance but he is not yet done, and so is the Philippines’ campaign in the Paris Olympics,” Bachmann, son of an Olympinan, said in a statement.

“The achievement is just the start of our country’s quest in writing another Olympic history. This is the fruit of everyone’s support and with this win, it has made the collective effort of everyone involved really special.”

He added that the goal of Team Philippines is to sustain the momentum gained by Hidilyn Diaz’s feat in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.

“The goal since all our athletes qualified for Paris 2024 is to continue the success of the past,” he said.

“The whole nation rallied behind them, and we now celebrate this achievement with pride and honor.”

Diaz, for her part, congratulated Yulo, saying that he should enjoy the moment and give all glory back to God and the country.

“For Caloy, I am so proud of you. I-enjoy mo ang bunga ng pinagpaguran mo,” said Diaz in an emotional social media post.

“At lagi mong ibabalik — sa Diyos at sa bayan — dahil lahat ng tagumpay natin ay hindi pangsarili. Salamat sa lahat ng maganda at mabuting ginawa at gagawin mo para sa Diyos at sa bayan.”

Like Diaz, the victory had formally elevated Yulo to celebrity status.

Aside from the P10 million cash reward from the government, the 24-year-old gymnast stands to receive more incentives from the President, lawmakers and the private sector, turning him from a poor boy from Leveriza, Manila into a multi-millionaire.

In fact, real estate developer Megaworld was the first to dangle a hefty reward package after it announced that whoever will win the Olympic gold medal will get a two-bedroom condominium unit worth P24 million in the upscale McKinley Hill area in Taguig City while other small entrepreneurs were giving away their products for free as a way of celebrating Yulo’s achievement.

Bachmann said Yulo’s victory had united the nation.

“Congratulations to Carlos Yulo and congratulations to our country! Tuloy and tagumpay!”