The Philippines’ star gymnast, Carlos Yulo, is set to compete at the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, which will take place from Oct. 19-25 at Indonesia Arena in Jakarta.

This will be the 25-year-old gymnast’s second appearance in Jakarta, following his debut at the 2018 Asian Games. Seven years ago, Yulo missed out on a medal, even after topping the floor exercise during qualifications.

Yulo is determined not to repeat that outcome. This year’s championships carry special meaning for the Southeast Asian gymnastics community. It marks the first time a country from the region has ever hosted the world championships.

“It’s really an upgrade, not only for Indonesia but also for Southeast Asia,” he said.

Here’s a brief interview with Carlos Yulo:

This is the first time Indonesia, or any Southeast Asian country, is hosting the world championships. What’s your first impression?

Yeah, this is the first time, like, also in Southeast Asia. But I’ve been here in 2018 at the Asian Games, so it’s quite like this. But obviously, right now it’s really like an upgrade, not only for Indonesia but of course for Southeast Asia.

I’m really proud and I’m really grateful to be here, and I just wanna thank everyone, like the staff and FIG, for doing this [world championships], especially in Southeast Asia.

Can you tell us how your preparation has been so far?

After olympics, I had a lot [of preparation]. It was overwhelming for me. And right now, I’m choosing which competition I should compete, not like before, [when] i just compete and compete.

Right now, I’m really picking which competitions should I join, especially [cosidering] for my physical and mental. I’m really taking care of it. Right now I’m doing good. It's just [that] I’m not gonna do six apparatus in this competition, but I’m really grateful to be here.

How big is the impact of Indonesia hosting the world championships on the gymnastics community in Southeast Asia?

Of course [big impact], that means that we can also handle this kind of big competitions and I’m really proud that we get to do this [hosting WC] in Southeast Asia. I’m just really grateful and proud that we got to do this.

You are a serial winner, got gold medals at the previous Olympics and world championships. Will you bring home another gold medal in this edition?

Of course, I want to win. But there are a lot of good competitors as well, the same guys that I competed with [at the Olympics and world championships]. They're also at a high level. I'm just here to also check what I can do.

Obviously, everyone wants to win, and I just hope that we're safe and that we perform our very best in the competition. Who knows? I don't know [the possibility of getting a gold medal]. But yeah, obviously, I want to win a gold medal on floor [exercise] and vault. But, let's see first. We are here to have fun and see what we can improve.

What are your hopes for Southeast Asian gymnastics?

Southeast Asia is really good at gymnastics, but as Southeast Asians, we can definitely improve more. We just need to keep trying and trying. It doesn't matter how many times we fail, as long as we're trying, we can improve something on it.