MIGUEL Besana walked away from the Asian Games men’s vault final with pride, calling his fifth-place finish a major achievement after competing against a field loaded with Olympians and future Olympic contenders.
Besana finished fifth with an average score of 13.783, successfully landing both of his vaults despite dealing with pain during the competition.
“I’m feeling good. Happy to be able to land both vaults. And despite the pains, I walked away with no major injuries. Thankful to the Lord that I was able to perform,” said Besana.
For Besana, simply making it through the demanding final was already something to appreciate.
“Landing fifth on the finals is a good achievement for me,” he said.
The Filipino gymnast also recognized the quality of the field he faced, describing the competition as being at the highest level of the sport.
“It’s a very tough competition having Olympians and future Olympians as well. The scores were for world class, Olympic class. And being able to go up against those gymnasts is a good challenge for me.”
While Besana missed the podium, his teammate Carlos Yulo once again delivered for the Philippines, winning his second gold medal of the Games by topping the vault final.
Yulo had earlier won the men’s floor exercise title, giving Philippine gymnastics back-to-back gold medals in Nagoya.
Besana said it was a special experience to compete alongside the country’s two-time Olympic gold medalist.
“It’s a wonderful thing that the Philippines got its two golds from gymnastics,” he added.
He hopes Yulo’s golden run can inspire the rest of Team Philippines to keep pushing for more medals.
“So, hoping that the other sports will be able to rally behind us and bring more golds for the Philippines,” he continued.
For Besana, sharing the floor with Yulo made the experience even more memorable.
“It was great being able to compete against him and with him,” said Besana. (Jesus Nathaniel Valdez)
