MANILA, Philippines – While fencer Samantha Catantan turned her dream to reality by qualifying for the Paris Games, three other Filipinos fell short of their Olympic aspirations.
Noelito Jose, Hanniel Abella, and Nathaniel Perez all got the boot in their respective categories in the Asia-Oceania Zonal Olympic Qualifier in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, held from Saturday, April 27 to Sunday, April 28.
Seeded 14th after the pool stage, Jose suffered an early exit in men’s epee as he absorbed a narrow 15-13 loss to No. 3 seed Jian Tong Sito of Singapore in the round of 16.
Perez also crashed out of the round of 16 off a 15-8 loss to Australia’s Joseph Glasson in men’s foil.
Abella, meanwhile, reached the quarterfinals in women’s epee after a 15-6 rout of Iran’s Reihaneh Rezaei Tadi in the round of 16, but she saw the end of the road following a 15-8 beating from top seed Kiria Tikanah of Singapore.
Tikanah, who competed in the Tokyo Games, went on to rule the event to book a return trip to the Olympics.
Fencers who vied for Paris berths in Fujairah faced an uphill climb since the Asia-Oceania qualifier offered just one Olympic spot for each of the six individual categories.
Catantan overcame the odds as she topped the women’s foil, becoming the first fencer from the Philippines to qualify for the Olympics in over three decades since Walter Torres participated in the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Bucking a knee injury in the finale, Catantan hacked out a dramatic 15-14 win over Kazakhstan’s Sofiya Aktayeva.
Aside from Catantan, another Filipino fencer in Maxine Esteban will see action in Paris, although she now represents African nation Ivory Coast.
Esteban also competes in women’s foil. – Rappler.com
