Pasay: Filipino gymnast Karl Eldrew Yulo failed to secure a podium finish at the men’s individual all-around event of the 3rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships at the Manila Marriott Hotel, Newport World Resorts in Pasay City on Saturday. Yulo scored 78.731 points, finishing eighth among 24 finalists.

According to Philippines News Agency, Yulo expressed his satisfaction despite not making the Top 3, stating, “I’m so happy even though I didn’t make the Top 3, I still managed to finish at No. 8.” Yulo, the younger brother of Paris Olympics double-gold medalist Carlos Edriel, will continue to compete in the floor exercise on Sunday and in the vault and horizontal bar on Monday. He previously won a silver medal in vault at the Asian Junior Championships in Jecheon, South Korea last June. Yulo added, “My confidence is high for my remaining three events. I’ll just make some adjustments and go for cleaner executions.”

Meanwhile, neutral athlete Arsenii Dukhno scored 82.031 points to win the gold medal. Japanese Nao Ojima secured the silver with 81.799 points, while Chinese Lanbin Yang took the bronze with 81.099 points.

In the women’s division, Elisabeth Antone, Maxine Bondoc, and Jellian Bantilan did not advance to the all-around finals. The Filipino-American Antone accumulated 47.632 points to finish in 37th place, with scores of 12.600 in vault, 11.366 in uneven bars, 11.533 in balance beam, and 12.133 in floor exercise. Bondoc finished 91st with 41.299 points, and Bantilan came 107th with 39.199 points.

Antone expressed her disappointment, saying, “I am disappointed a little bit and I know that I could have done better. I just want to improve for next time. Compared to the Asian juniors in Korea, this was compressed a little bit, a different arena.”

In the women’s team ranking, France won the gold medal with 108.432 points. Japan claimed the silver with 107.930 points, while the USA took home the bronze with 106.230 points.