Olympian Sam Catantan saw her 20th Asian Games campaign come to an end on Wednesday after a 10-15 loss to South Korea’s Park Jihee in the women’s individual foil quarterfinals at the Aichi Sky Expo.
Catantan, 24, fought through the setback and left the piste with her head held high, despite the emotional finish to her campaign.
“I’m really proud of how I fenced today. Up to the end, I did not give up. So I’m very proud of that. Unfortunately, it’s sports; it could go either way,” Catantan said.
The Philippine foilist said she will use her Asian Games experience as a gauge of where she currently stands as she prepares for the next Olympic qualifying cycle.
“One of my main goals for this tournament is to see where I’m at currently and work after to be better and to hopefully get better results for the upcoming Olympic qualifying season,” she said.
“Every competition, the key takeaway is to never give up, aim for better results, and work harder.”
(C) POC Media Group
Catantan was not the only Filipino fencer to bow out on Wednesday.
Christian Jhester Concepcion reached the men’s individual sabre round of 16 before falling to Iran’s Mohammad Fotouhi Firozabad, 7-15. Meanwhile, Eunice Daniel Villanueva was eliminated in the round of 32 after a 9-15 defeat to Saudi Arabia’s Adel Mukhlid Almutairi.
Catantan’s younger sister, Janna, also exited the women’s individual foil competition in the round of 32 following a 15-2 loss to Singapore’s Maxine Jie Xin Wong.
The Philippines will have four more fencers in action on Thursday, with Jian Miguel Bautista and Noelito Jose Jr. competing in men’s individual épée and Jylyn Nicanor and Queen Denice Dalmacio seeing action in women’s individual sabre.
