Catantan vows to ‘give my all’ as she faces tall Olympic odds

TANG CHHIN SOTHY / AFP

Samantha Catantan wept as the national anthem played at the conclusion of the Olympic qualification tournament where she secured the last Asian wild card pass to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But long after the euphoria died down, Catantan understood the work to be done. The four wild card qualifiers are ranked at the bottom of the 34-person list in women’s foil and joining Catantan, a gold and silver medalist in Southeast Asian Games women’s foil, are Youssra Zekrani from Morocco (Africa), Brazil’s Mariana Pistoia (America) and Romania’s Malina Calugareanu (Europe). The four will engage in a crossover fence-off to make it to the main draw.

If she survives the wild-card round and makes the round-of-32 she will face the top bets in the field.

“It’s going to be a very tough tournament because these players, especially those at the top, are built to fence in the Olympics,’’ said Catantan.

Tokyo Olympic women’s foil gold medalist Lee Kiefer of the United States is a heavy favorite to retain her title and even though Russians Inna Deriglazova and Larisa Korobeynikova won’t be around to fill up the medal podium in Paris, a hoard of contenders are capable of taking their spots.

Italians Alice Volpi, Martina Favaretto and Arianna Errigo belong to the upper crust of the top prospects with the entries from Canada, Poland, China, Egypt and Japan just as competent in pulling off surprises.

“The last four years these fencers already knew that they would qualify, so they’ve been preparing for this moment,’’ said Catantan.

Philippines’ Samantha Catantan reacts after beating Singapore’s Maxine Jie Xin Wong in the women’s epee individual fencing final at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Hanoi on May 14, 2022. (Photo by TANG CHHIN SOTHY / AFP).

Direct qualifiers

Other direct qualifiers in women’s foil include Filipino-Ivorian Maxine Esteban of Ivory Coast (Africa), Amita Berthier of Singapore and Daphne Chan of Hong Kong (Asia and Oceania), Arantxa Inostroza of Chile (America) and Germany’s Anne Sauer and Hungary’s Flora Pasztor (Europe).

They all qualified to the French capital after ranking at the top of the heap in their respective continents.

“The pressure is always there. You just have to get used to it. My goal is to give my all, fight to the best of my ability and see where all those efforts will take me,’’ said Catantan, who sharpened her saw in the US NCAA circuit playing for Penn State University.

Samantha Kyle Catantan of the Philippines (R) competes with Singapore's Amita Marie Nicolette Berthier during the women's foil individual final of the 29th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Kuala Lumpur on August 21, 2017. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP). — Samantha Kyle Catantan of the Philippines (R) competes with Singapore’s Amita Marie Nicolette Berthier during the women’s foil individual final of the 29th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Kuala Lumpur on August 21, 2017. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP).

The 22-year-old prized find from Frisco, Quezon City, is currently in the thick of preparations in Venice with her coach Rolando Amat.

They will move for a week in the training camp set up by the Philippine Olympic Committee in Metz, France, before entering the Olympic village days before the tournament.

The one-day meet for women’s foil is set July 28 at Grand Palais in Paris.

“I’m very happy not only for myself. I’m more happy that this could be the start that fencing would become popular in our country. Hopefully, we can gain all the support that we can get,’’ said Catantan.

She’s only the third Philippine team fencer to have made it this far in the global sports showpiece along with Percy Alger (1988 Seoul) and 1992 Barcelona Olympian Walter Torres, now a commissioner in the Philippine Sports Commission.