Carlos Edriel Yulo proved he is the top medal hopeful for the Philippine contingent in the 2026 Asian Games, taking home gold in the floor exercise final of the artistic gymnastics competition on Thursday at the Nagoya Civic General Gymnasium.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist ruled the final with 14.666 points – 5.7 in difficulty and 8.966 in execution – to edge Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan and Japanese bet Shoma Tsukiyama.
Performing fourth in the field of eight, the top favorite in the discipline proved his worth, delivering a near-flawless routine in the final to beat seven other competitors that included his brother Karl Eldrew and stamping his class that Karimi and Tsukiyama had to beat in their lone attempts.
PH golden boy dazzles on the floor
The 26-year-old veteran gymnast had to wait for the executions of Tsukiyama and Karimi to officially claim he is the best in Asia.
Tsukiyama, who performed seventh in the competition, delivered a great performance but fell short, scoring a 14.566 — 5.6 for difficulty, 8.866 in execution, and a 0.1-point bonus from the judges.
The Kazakh Karimi, who posted the sixth-best score in the preliminaries, surprised everyone with a superb showing and nearly supplanted Yulo.
The judges gave him a 14.600 score – 5.7 on difficulty, 8.8 on execution, and a 0.1 bonus.
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First gold medal for Team PH in 2026 Asiad
The victory handed Team Philippines its first gold medal in the 20th Asiad after several close calls and disappointing finishes in the opening days of competition.
Before Yulo’s win, the country could only manage a silver and four bronzes in the multisport spectacle.
South Korean Ryu Sung-hyun finished fourth at 14.366, followed by his countryman Kim Jae-ho (13.6).
Japanese gymnast Daiki Hashimoto, who is expected to be Yulo’s top rival in the floor exercise, wound up a disappointing sixth at 13.500 while Karl Eldrew finished seventh at 12.233 on his first Asian Games stint. Chinese bet Sun Wei came in eighth with a 10.566 effort.
Yulo will try to win his second gold medal at the quadrennial meet, competing in the men’s vault final on Friday afternoon.
He was the seventh-best qualifier in the event and will be facing strong opposition from athletes representing Hong Kong, South Korea, and Iran.
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Levi Mora 
Wendellyn Mateo 
Maybelene Marcelino