World champion Carlos Yulo of the Philippines officially did not participate in the 33rd SEA Games. This decision comes from the controversial new regulations applied by Thailand to the sport of Physical Education and Tools.
According to the host country's regulations, each athlete is only allowed to compete in a final round in an individual event, leading to a limit of the maximum number of individual gold medals for each athlete to one.
In addition, the personal touchline content was also eliminated. This is the most important event in figurehead exercise and is suitable for athletes who are able to compete in many sports like Yulo.
Experts say the regulations directly affect Yulo, who is superior to the rest of the region. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, he won two gold medals in freestyle and mixed jumping.
More broadly, the Philippine athlete won a total of 3 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 3 bronze medals in 5 appearances.
In the SEA Games, Yulo always achieves outstanding results. At the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam, he won 5 individual gold medals.
A year later, despite competing in fewer events, he still won 2 gold medals at the 32nd SEA Games. However, due to the uneven position of the Philippines team, he rarely won in the team event.
The Philippine Physical Education and Training Federation believes that this reduces the competitive value of the subject and does not accurately reflect the abilities of athletes.
Federation President Cynthia Carreon criticized Thailand for placing the goal of winning medals above the rights of athletes.
Yulo's absence from the 33rd SEA Games has cost one of the region's most classy athletes, while reducing the appeal of figure sports at the Games.
