University of the East fencers (from left) Yuna Canlas, Willa Galvez and Elise Acuzar show their medals. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Willa Galvez of University of the East won two gold medals in the Thailand Fencing Festival Minime and Veterans Championships 2024 held over the weekend at Diamond Hall in Zeer Rangsit, Thailand.
“I’m happy to win,” the 13-year-old Galvez, who was coming off a training camp in Taiwan, said of her feat.
“It was perfect timing that after the Taiwan training camp we joined a tournament in Thailand. It gave me confidence and at the same time I was able to apply the lessons,” she added.
Yuan Canlas won one gold for the Canlas Fencing team that competed in Thailand.
READ: Young Willa Galvez strikes gold in Malaysia tourney
Galvez, who represented Canlas Fencing, dominated top seed Hei Shun Keung of Hong Kong 15-8 in the finals of the Under-14 girl’s foil last Saturday—her second gold medal in the same category in international meet just seven months after her breakthrough victory in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The incoming Grade 8 student also won the gold in the Girls’ under-14 epee with a nail-biting 15-13 win opposite Pawichaya Thongngaram of Thailand in the finals.
Canlas, an incoming freshman for the Red Warriors, captured the gold medal in Under-12 girl’s epee on the final day of competition Monday after beating Lena Xia of Singapore, 10-5, in the finals. She also earned two bronze medals (U-14 and U-12 foil) in the three-day tournament.