FOIL specialist Sammuel Tranquilan reached the Round of 16, before bowing out of contention in the Asian Fencing Championships in Bali, Indonesia.
Despite falling to Paris Olympian and former Asian champion Mo Ziwei of China, 13-15, Tranquilan’s performance gave the Philippines its best showing in the men’s side.
Tranquilan, who is a silver medallist in the 2023 Cambodia Southeast Asian Games, settled for a 15th overall finish out of 67 entries.
Earlier, 21-year-old Janna Catantan, the younger sister of Paris Olympics veteran Sam Catantan, eventually landed in 24th place out of 59 entries in women’s foil.
Tranquilan made it to the Round of 16 after stopping Abdalla Khalifa of Qatar, 15-14, in the Round of 32.
Tranquilan earlier beat Al Jallaf Hamad (UAE), 15-6, in the Round of 64.
Meanwhile, Shawn Felipe landed 36th, when he won three of five matches in the pool stage — a 5-2 victory over Brunei’s Ali Alamiri, a 5-3 edging of Uzbek bet Doniyor Sadullaev, and another 5-3 result over Thailand’s Notethakod Wangpaisit
Their two other teammates Nathaniel Perez and Robert Cabaero were in 43rd and 66th spots, respectively.
Philippine fencing team head coach Rolando ‘Amat’ Canlas said their stint in the Asian tournament serves as part of their preparations for the SEA Games in Thailand this December.
“Maganda naman ang naging performance ng team sa competition. Nakita namin ang malaking potential sa mga fencers natin,” said Canlas.
