Catantan, 3 others seek Olympic slots in UAE qualifier
SAMANTHA KYLE CATANTAN and three other fencers shoot for Paris Olympics berth when they compete in the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament set April 27 and 28 at the Zayed Sports Complex in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.
Catantan goes for a ticket in women’s foil and joining her are fellow University of the East (UE) alumni Nathaniel Perez in men’s foil and Noelito Jose Jr. in men’s epee and Hanniel Abella in women’s epee.
“We are hopeful and the chances are great although it is still in God’s hands,” Philippine Fencing Association secretarygeneral Leah Gonzalez told Businessmirror on Wednesday. “We have prepared the best we can and our three other hopefuls trained hard for this event.”
Walter “Wawit” Torres, now a Philippine Sports Commission commissioner, was the last Filipino fencer to qualify in the Olympics in Barcelona 1992.
Catantan a gold medal at the Hanoi 2022 Southeast Asian Games and a silver at the Cambodia SEA Games last year.
The 22-year-old Catantan, a former University Athletic Association of the Philippines champion from University of the East (UE), is training at Pennsylvania State University where she’s an athletic scholarship taking up Accounting.
The only way for Catantan to make it to Paris is through direct qualification by winning gold in Fujairah—she’s out of the world rankings for missing competitions because of injuries.
She’s coming off a 10th-place finish in a 24-athlete field at the US NCAA that ended last March 22 in Columbus, Ohio.
Perez, on the other hand, clinched silver at the Kuala Lumpur 2017 SEA Games and bronze in Manila 2019 and Hanoi 2022.
He’s a member of UE’S seven-time boys’ champion team and five-time Most Valuable Player in the UAAP.