Paris-targeting Catantan making great strides in US

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

Samantha Catantan continued to trek the long path to the 2024 Paris Olympics and came through with an exemplary victory at the recently-concluded Garrett Open in Pennsylvania, United States.

The country’s lone gold medalist in fencing in this year’s Southeast Asian Games defended her women’s individual foil title in the competition that featured some of the finest fencers in the US National Collegiate Athletic Association.

“It was really tough because we had to play three rounds of pooling. In the first two rounds, I played seven bouts, and in the third round, I played six bouts,’’ said Catantan, who masterfully delivered a 15-9 win over Penn State University teammate Arianna Proietti in the finals.

The 20-year-old Catantan steamrolled her way to the medal rounds by knocking out Annie Lin of Yale University, 15-8, in the round of 16, Renee Oymann of Temple University, 15-7, in the quarterfinals and Emme Zhou of Yale University, 15-13, in the semifinals.

It was actually Catantan’s third medal in a span of three weeks.

“I’d say it’s a good sign to start the season,’’ said Catantan.

“So far, I’m very thankful with the way I fence and that I’m able to do fencing actions I’ve been practicing on,’’ said the third-year accounting major at Penn State.

Catantan needs to accumulate ranking points from individual grand prix and senior world cup meets, the senior world championships and the Asian championships to qualify for Paris. INQ