PH fencers botch test, miss out on Tokyo slots
Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Jylyn Nicanor and two other Filipino fencers flubbed their Olympic bids on Monday as the Philippine team ended its campaign in the in the Asia-Oceania qualifiers on a disappointing note in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
In a close match, Nicanor lost to Hong Kong’s Hin Wai Lam in the women’s sabre quarterfinals, 12-15 while Nathaniel Perez was also eliminated after absorbing a 9-15 loss to Chinese Taipei’s Chih Chieh Chen in the men’s foil round-of-16 match.
A three-time UAAP MVP from University of the East, Perez emerged as the best fencer in the pool round after winning all his six bouts, but could not sustain his rousing start in the knockout stage.
Haniel Abella also failed to secure qualification in the Olympics after a sound 3-15 defeat from the hands of Mongolia’s Amarzaya Batsaikhan in the women’s epee round of 16.
Abella clinched the last seat in the knockout rounds after recording a 2-3 record in the pool play.
On Sunday, Samantha Catantan, CJ Concepcion, and Noelito Jose Jr. were also unsuccessful in their Olympic bids.
Catantan, a Penn State standout, gave the country’s lone medal in the qualifiers, capturing a bronze medal in the women’s foil.
The last Filipino fencer to qualify in the Olympics was Walter Torres during the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Up next for the Filipino fencers is the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam in November.
