Netizens couldn’t hide their emotions after they watched a documentary by NHK Japan about Carlos Yulo and his former coach, Munehiro Kugimiya.
Carlos, who met Kugimiya when he was still 13 years old could be seen in the documentary trying to learn the Japanese culture and language while shaping his gymnastics skills at the same time.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist was also revealed to have lived with Kugimiya during his training in Japan.
The Japanese coach also became not just a coach but also a second father to Carlos as he guided the Filipino gymnast during his Nihongo studies and even cooked food for his students.
“I’m just putting things in that are healthy; he injured himself a lot in training in the past, so I started thinking about what could help,” said Kugimiya.
“I thought that food could be the most important thing for his health,” he added.
To help Carlos become more proficient in Nihongo, the Japanese coach asked his student to write all his thoughts in a diary using Japanese.
At first, Kugimiya noticed how difficult it was for Carlos to express his thoughts on Nihongo, but eventually, he slowly improved, which helped the coach to know what was inside his student’s mind.
The documentary also gave a glimpse of how the coach was handling Carlos and giving him tips before the competition.
“What I want to tell you is, first achieving your goal should be your first priority,” said Kugimiya. “Second, do not train recklessly,”
“And don’t put too much pressure on yourself, but just try to do your best.