SOPHIA “Opao” Catantan delivered an outstanding performance to capture a bronze medal on the final day of the 2025 FIE Singapore Foil Satellite, held Sunday at the OCBC Arena in Singapore.
Seeded 24th after posting three wins and three losses in the pool round, the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors junior standout made an impressive run in the Direct Elimination stage to reach the semifinals.
Catantan, the youngest sister of Paris Olympian Samantha Catantan, advanced past Chang Manli of Chinese Taipei with a commanding 15–5 victory in the Round of 64, then defeated Singapore’s Angellena Wong, 15–10, in the Round of 32.
She maintained her fine form by outdueling Thi Thu Phuong Nguyen of Vietnam, 15–11, in the Round of 16, before pulling off a stunning upset over tournament top seed Aila Mamedova, 15–12, in the quarterfinals to secure a spot in the medal round.
Although she fell to No. 4 seed Vladislava Peniushkina, 15–3, in the semifinals, Catantan’s bronze finish marked a historic milestone — the first by a Filipina fencer in an international competition since Maxine Esteban’s podium finish years earlier.
“Happy and proud to bring home bronze, and mas special kasi andito halos buong family ko kasama ko sa Singapore to watch and support. Si Ate Sam lang po ang wala pero tutok sa social media maski gabi na po sa US,” said Catantan, who turns 16 on November 10.
A Grade 10 student at UE, Catantan now shifts her focus to the upcoming 2025 Junior World Cup and the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this December.
