Bright future beckons Catantan, Esteban despite early Olympic exit

No amount of preparedness can muster the lionhearted when competing in an arena where the best and the most formidable in the world have gathered to display their exemplary skills and brilliance while aiming to seize the glorious prize in the world’s biggest sporting stage.

That is what the two Filipina fencers endured when they were unable to deflect the puncture of reality when they both bowed out in the Table of 32, ending their dream run in the Olympics.

Samantha Catantan and Maxine Esteban made history when they both qualified for the Summer Games as the Philippines’ first fencing representative since 1992 and the first homegrown Filipina to qualify for the Olympics, respectively.

With a rivalry to be settled in the Fencing events and an Olympic medal at stake, the odds of Catantan and Esteban facing off in the Olympic fencing stage is if they both reach the semifinals.

But the encounter was foiled at the Grand Palais where both fencers were ousted from the Paris Games in the early stages of the women’s individual foil competition.

After upstaging Brazil’s Mariana Pistoia, 15-13, in the Table of 64, the No. 266-ranked Catantan went toe-to-toe with the top-seeded fencer in a gallant bid to keep alive the Philippines’ first appearance in Olympic fencing in 32 years.

Catantan’s significant short stature was evident when she went against Arianna Errigo of Italy, who paraded a wealthy Olympic experience. Even with the impressive credentials, the world No. 2’s struggle was apparent as the young Filipina reciprocated the attacks despite having a mobility issue with her left knee.

Masking the pain afflicted by her knee injury, Catantan refused to surrender and remained steadfast as she employed her counterattacks effectively, narrowing the deficit to just two points, 12-14.

The 22-year-old’s resilience was evident as she pushed Errigo to the limit.

However, experience and composure ultimately prevailed, with the 36-year-old veteran managing to secure the final point via a red card and win the match, 15-12.

“I know for a fact that coming here, I was not as ready as my other opponents because I just recovered from an injury and I just started fencing by February. But I was really happy with the way I fenced today. Hopefully, in the next tournaments, I will be able to perform better,” Catantan told the media post match.

Catantan braved on but came up short versus Errigo and became the first casualty for the 22-strong Philippine team in the 33rd Olympic Games.
 

Esteban, meanwhile, challenged Tokyo Olympics silver medalist and 13th-seeded Pauline Ranvier of France but suffered an early exit as the hometown bet eked 15-7 in the women’s foil individual Table of 32.

After shedding the Philippines’ red, white and blue for the green, white and orange colors of the Côte d’Ivoire last year, the 24-year-old Esteban marched into the Summer Games oozing with confidence as she ranks No. 27 in the world – the highest ranking ever by a homegrown Filipino fencer.

Ranvier unfortunately dominated Esteban on the piste, establishing a 13-2 lead at the 0:24 mark in the first period. Esteban still notched some points but ultimately could not recover from the huge separation created by the French fencer.

“In my maiden appearance, I am happy to have made a final ranking of #23 out of the 34 fencers. It is an honor to fence the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, Pauline Ranvier from France in the T32, who is also my friend,” Esteban stated after her match.

Regardless of the setback, the Filipino-Ivorian remains positive and paints the future a very encouraging picture as competing for a new federation that is giving her all the support she needs secured her a solid position to excel.

What’s next for the Filipina fencers?

Despite concluding their campaigns early in their maiden appearance in the Olympics, both fencers have already contemplated a bigger and demanding plan for their next career move.

Catantan shared that she will have to compete in as many international tournaments as she can to gain the necessary points to qualify for the next Summer Games.

Esteban, on the other hand, who will be representing Ivory Coast for the rest of her fencing career, will work hard to emerge as No. 20 in the world and reach her peak by the time the next Olympics unfold.

With Catantan and Esteban having long parried battles on and off the piste, bright future beckons the two Filipina fencers as they suit up for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.