Janna Allysah Catantan went as far as the Round of 32 to become the best-finishing Filipino fencer in the ongoing 2025 Asian Fencing Championships in Bali, Indonesia.
The 21-year-old Catantan, the younger sister of Paris Olympics’ veteran Sam Catantan, eventually landed in 24th place out of 59 entries in women’s foil.
Catantan made it to the direct elimination rounds, when she won three of five matches in the pool phase, with victories over Thai rival Suchanart Rung Ruang, 5-3, Macau’s Iec Pek Chan, 5-1, and India’s Kanupriya, 5-3.
In the Round of 64, Catantan got past New Zealand’s Bowie Wang, 15-6, before falling to Han Xiao Xuan of China, 15-5, in the round of 32.
In men’s saber, Daniel Villanueva was 29th among 72 participants, to become the second best performing Filipino fencer on Day 1.
Villanueva shocked 27th seed Musa Aymuratov, 15-11, before falling to 6th seed Kento Yoshida, 5-15 of Japan
Wilhelmina Lozada was the third best finisher for the day, after she turned back Taipei’s Olivia Cheng, 15-14, but lost to Maxine Wong, 7-15, to finish in 32nd.
Catantan’s sister Sophia also reached the direct elimination phase and settled for 37th after dropping her encounter with Kazakhstan’s Kulzhan Tussup-bekova,12-15.
Miyake Capina was in 50th, after winning one of six matches during the pool stage.
