Sam Catantan stumbled on a roadblock in Italy's world number 2 Arianna Errigo to finish her Paris campaign.
I just checked her age out and barring injuries, she's probably going to spearhead Philippine fencing's bounce back in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The 2002-born foil fencer who started her fencing career in UE was a former UAAP MVP. She was then recruited to play for the Penn State Nittany Lions, the alma mater of former Rain or Shine import Jamelle Cornley.
From 2017 to 2013, Catantan won multiple accolades in the SEA Games. Her biggest international victory was in 2021 when she won the gold medal in the individual women's foil event and a silver in the women's team foil event.
Fencing's biggest drawback in the Philippines is the equipment. You can scrimmage with rulers and broomsticks, but it can only get a player so much. The only way for a player to get into the sport is if he or she looks for it and pursues it with hopes of landing in a school with a good program for it. And then, finds a way to fund his or her passion.
I could be wrong, but I went to Amazon and Absolute Fencing Gear, and I think a complete set of fencing equipment is around 500 to 600 dollars.
Hmmm...
This sucks because Filipinos are great in combat sports, and this is why Sam Catantan needs to bounce back from her Paris experience and makes her name in time for the Asian Games, SEA Games, World Championships, and the Olympics.
I expect her world number 266 ranking to rise after her performance. There is a Chinese fencer in the Top 10, but she also fell in the round of 32. Only two Asians were able to reach the round of 16, but unfortunately, Hong Kong's Daphne Chan fell to world number 6 Anne Sauer of Germany, and world number 18 Huang Qianqian of China got the misfortune of going 1v1 with world number 1 Lee Kiefer of the United States.
Singapore's Maxine Wong, the woman who defeated Catantan in the 2023 SEA Games, is ranked number 89 and did not qualify for the Olympics. The other SEA representative is Singapore's Amita Berthier, and she lost 15 to 13 to Team USA's Lauren Scruggs.
Errigo and Scruggs faced each other in the quarterfinals, with Scruggs winning a close match, 15 to 14.
Scruggs joins Canadian Eleanor Harvey, Italian Alice Volpi, and fellow American and the one to beat Lee Kiefer in the semifinals with the possibility of an All-American showdown.
I don't know how is this a wake-up call for kids to aspire to play fencing, but Catantan is the only Filipina listed in the International Fencing Federation's Top 300. She is also the second-oldest Filipina there despite being only 22. Most of the players listed are around the 14 to 19 age range. One of the names listed is Samantha's sister, Sophia, who is currently ranked 577 in the world.
Even Catantan had to pursue the United States route because of a lack of competition. UE has always been the best fencing school in the Philippines, with 42 championships in the seniors and juniors.
Frankly, fencing is a rich kid's sport, especially with how films and drama series portray it. That said Filipinos are good at combat sports. If there is a way for the government to have this sport at least in a couple of rich kid schools, we could have an influx of up-and-comers soon.