Carlos Yulo was admittedly surprised to have qualified for the finals of the vault apparatus in men's artistic gymnastics, a result overshadowed by his disappointing performance in his pet event, the floor exercise.

Hopes were high for Yulo after his triumphant performance in the 2019 world championships where he won gold in the floor exercise, but the Filipino gymnast faltered in the Tokyo Olympics.

He scored only 13.566, good for just 44th and well off the Top 8 during Saturday's qualifiers at the Ariake Gymnastics Center.

• READ: Top Pinoy gymnast Yulo reaches vault final, but falters at floor

But all is not lost for the 21-year-old Yulo, who scored a solid 14.712 in the vault to finish in sixth place.

The score was enough to earn him a spot in the finals, set for August 2. That will now be Yulo's focus as he looks to salvage his campaign in the Summer Games.

"Nagulat nga po ako," he said of his qualification to the vault finals. "Hindi ko po alam na nakapasok ako."

Yulo has not reached the finals of the vault in any major tournament until now, but he promises to make the most of the opportunity.

However, Yulo also wants to be realistic about his chances.

"Malabo po. Marami pong magaling," he admitted.

Yulo says he may need to breach the 15.000 mark in order to reach the podium, which will require him to stick the landing in both his vault attempts.

Korea's Jeahwan Shin and Armenia's Artur Davtyan both scored 14.866 in the vault during the qualifiers, while Nikita Nagornyy, the Russian star, notched 14.783. Another Russian, Denis Abliazin, scored 14.733.

"Kaya pa pong itaas 'yan," Yulo said of his score.

In the 2019 world championships, Russia's Nagornyy won the gold with a score of 14.966.

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