By MARK REY MONTEJO
Fencers Samantha Catantan and Maxine Esteban will have to come up with extra ordinary performances if they are to advance to the medal round of the women’s foil event in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
There will be 34 fencers in the event, and the 31st to 34th players – wild card qualifiers – will go through elimination process via crossover to decide who will advance in the Direct Elimination Final 32.
The DE Final 32 will also be competed via crossover.
Being a wild card qualifier, Catantan, 22, may fall in the lower bracket probably at 34th and might face the 31st qualifier. The Nos. 32 and 33 will be pitted against each other.
Whoever emerges the winner between Nos. 31 and 34 will have a herculean task next as she has to beat world No. 1 Lee Kiefer to progress.
Owing to the points she accumulated in various tournaments, Esteban might ve seeded No. 26, and in that case, she has to hurdle the seventh-ranked player to march into the next round.
Their missions appear very tough but given their training and sacrifices – not to mention their burning desire to create ripples – Catantan and Esteban stand a good chance of pulling off big surprises.
But even if the two clash in later stages, it’s going to be a lot of fun.
They are good friend after all.
“It’s an external factor that we don’t have any control of, and if ever na magtatapat po kami, syempre in a normal tournament, we’re rivals pero only on the strip, but outside of that, we’re very good friends,” Catantan said on Tuesday, May 21.
“No matter what po I’m very excited to fence any of them kasi alam ko naman pong hindi naman po sila nakarating ng Olympics dahil di nila deserved eh,” she added.
Catantan earned a berth to Paris after topping the Asia Oceania Qualification in Fujairah, UAE last month, while Esteban secured a ticket as the highest ranked fencer in the African zone.
The two fencers represented the Philippines multiple times including in the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam where they helped power the women’s team foil to a silver medal.
