Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam was all praises for the Philippines, especially two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo, who brought pride not only to the country but also to Southeast Asia for winning two gold medals.
“I should say, by the way, that, and you know, these things do matter. There’s just something very impressive about the performance of Filipino athletes at the Olympic games,” President Shanmugaratnam said.
“Mr. Yulo’s two golds … he’s the only athlete from Southeast Asia, from an ASEAN nation whose had two Olympic golds ever. So, it’s a real milestone. It’s a real milestone for all of us. I mean, we shine a bit of a reflected glory of the Philippines,” he added.
Yulo bagged gold medals in the men’s floor exercise and men’s vault finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Singapore President made the remarks during his bilateral meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Malacañang on Thursday as part of his first state visit to the Philippines, along with his wife Mrs. Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam.
For his part, President Marcos thanked the Singapore leader for his kind words toward the Philippines and Filipino athletes. He also shared the same sentiment that the government is “just a reflected glory” of the athlete’s stellar performance during the Olympics.
“We had a bit of that just the other night when our Olympians came home, and came here. And that’s what I was telling everyone that tonight, it’s not about us. We’re just a reflected glory over here and trying to be part of the achievements of our athletes,” President Marcos told the visiting Singapore leader. “We’re very, very proud.”
The President also shared how the Filipino people warmly welcomed the athletes when they were paraded in Manila shortly after their heroes’ welcome late Tuesday.
President Marcos said the stellar performance of the athletes gave a boost to Filipinos. *PND*
