FILIPINO sports fans need not be alarmed by the injury suffered by fencer Samantha Catantan during the Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates over the weekend, according to fencing chief Rene Gacuma.
“Sam (Catantan’s nickname) claims it’s a muscle strain,” said Gacuma of the athlete, who nipped Kazakhstan’s Sofia Aktayeva 15-14 in the women’s foil finals to book a coveted ticket to the Paris Olympics.
With the score deadlocked at 13-all, the match was halted five minutes for a medical break as Catantan clutched her left hip, wincing in pain, but bravely returned to action to complete the riveting come-from-behind win.
“Sam is now back at Penn State,” added Gacuma, the Philippine Fencing Association president, of the Nittany Lion skipper, who anchored her squad to 10th place in the NCAA Division 1 Championships.
He disclosed that Catantan, an accounting major at Penn State, would be up against another challenge — exams — on her return.
“Vindication indeed! God is all so good!” Gacuma exclaimed over the success of the athlete, who worked hard to recover and get back into shape from an ACL injury while competing in the semifinals of last year’s 32nd Cambodia Southeast Asian Games.
Catantan is the country’s first representative in the sport since Walter Torres saw action in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on top of being the first Filipina to do so in the sport.
Depending on the outcome of the draw, she might draw swords against former national teammate Maxine Esteban, who has switched nationalities and qualified for the Paris Summer Games under the flag of Ivory Coast.
