Samantha Catantan soldiered on, despite suffering a left knee injury, to win her semifinal match 15-6 against Cheung Kemei of Singapore.
This victory set up a finals rematch with Cheung’s compatriot, Maxine Wong, for the gold in the women’s individual foil at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games on Friday at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
However, Catantan, who is a student-athlete at Penn State, was advised and decided not to continue into the gold medal bout due to her condition.
“Gusto ko po sanang ituloy pero cino-convince po nila ako na huwag po, kasi baka mas lumala po,” said the 2021 Games champion in an interview with GMA Sports’ Bea Micaller. “Kasi hindi po namin alam kung ano.
“Yung mga medical po ng Cambodia, hindi po magaling mag-English, kaya hindi po nila alam yung problema,” she lamented.
In the process, Wong bagged Singapore’s third gold medal of the Games in fencing, while Catantan finished with the silver.
Cheung and Malaysia’s Rizzal Surayya completed the podium.
Last year, Catantan defeated Wong in the final.
