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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Catantan, four others compete in Cairo fencing tilt

Catantan, four others compete in Cairo fencing tilt

Published Apr 4, 2021 02:26 pm
Sam Catantan reacts after winning a match in the World Junior Fencing Championship in Poland. (Photo Courtesy of Canlas Fencing Academy)

Five fencers led by US NCAA campaigners Sam Catantan and Lance Tan will carry the national team colors as they compete in the 2021 World Juniors/Cadets Fencing Championship set April 3 to 11 in Cairo, Egypt.

Fresh from a tied for third place finish in the US NCAA Fencing Championship recently in Pennsylvania, the 19-year-old freshman Catantan of Penn State University hopes to improve from a "Sweet 16" stint in the cadet category of this same tournament two years ago in Poland.

“I hope to do well,” Catantan, a former standout at University of the East, told Manila Bulletin upon her arrival Saturday in Cairo.

The tournament is for fencers 13 to 20 years old, which is divided into two categories, the 13-17 cadets group and the 18-20 juniors bracket for all three weapons – epee, sabre and foil.

The round-of-16 appearance by Catantan in Poland led to her inclusion on the fencing team of Penn State University, becoming the first homegrown Filipino to play for a Division 1 school in the US NCAA.

In the said tournament, Catantan went undefeated in the pool play with a 20-0 record to secure the No. 1 spot in the semifinal round. She lost 15-14 to teammate and former Italy national team player Lodovica Bicego in the Final Four of women’s foil.

Amat Canlas, who picked the five Filipino fencers for the world championship, expressed optimism that this event would help them improve on their skills since they have other important events this year.

Catantan will join the national team, currently training in a bubble in Ormoc City, when they see action in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament for this year’s Tokyo Olympics.

The event is set April 26-27 in Uzbekistan.

“The world championship is a good exposure for our young fencers. After this tournament, Sam will join us in the OQT. This is also good for the others since they are likely to compete for the national team spot for this year's Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam,” Canlas said.

Tan, a member of the Sacred Heart University, also hopes to improve his own performance now that the 20-year-old US-based fencer is in his final year in the world championship.

“I’ve been on the Philippine cadet/junior World Championship team since 2016… this is my fifth and last stint, sadly, as I’m going out,” said Tan, 20, a sophomore at SHU who finished 18th from the 24 participants in the men’s foil division in the US NCAA.

Aside from Catantan and Tan, who will see action in men’s foil, other Filipino participants in the world championship are US-based Daena Talavera (foil) of Clayton High School and Annika Santos (foil) of Forest Hills Central High School, and Jian Miguel Bautista (epee) of Ateneo.

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