LOOK who’s bitten by the pickleball bug? Paris Olympics double gold medalist Carlos Yulo.
‘It’s been raining all the time so I train here at home,’ said Yulo, who bought a house in Alabang where he stays most of the time. ‘And I cross-train in pickleball, and even badminton.’
Pickleball has gotten so popular that global sports icon are playing the leisure sport that’s a cross among tennis, badminton and table tennis.
‘These sports [pickleball and badminton] are very important for the mobilization of muscles and mind as well,’ said the 60-year-old three-time world champion, who plays with brother Karl Eldrew and friends but under the keen monitoring of physiotherapist Bethel Solano.
‘But of course, we always go down to serious training in Intramuros,’ said Yulo, who’s hell bent at winning his first Asian Games gold medal in Aichi-Nagoya.
‘That’s the only one missing,’ said Yulo, stressing he targets not just one but multiple gold medals to redeem himself after going empty in Hangzhou three years ago.
‘I want not just one, but more,’ he said. ‘I will do my best to win the floor, vault and individual all-around.’
The Yulo brothers will lead a 14-athlete gymnastics team to the Asian Games.
They are Juancho Miguel Besana, Justine Ace de Leon, Zachary Cortins Nuñez, Levi Ruivivar, Kylee Kvamme, Chiara Dawn Andrew, Lauren Supnet and Haylee Garcia in artistic gymnastics; Breanna Labadan and Jasmine Althea Romulo in rhythmic gymnastics; and Jerry Ilano Jr. and Luvicar Janine Padilla in trampoline gymnastics.
After the Asian Games, Yulo will head to the world championships in Rotterdam in The Netherlands from October 17 to 25.