TWO-TIME UAAP champion and Season 87 MVP Janna Catantan is set to return to the UST Lady Fencers for one final collegiate campaign in Season 89.
Catantan confirmed her return to The Flame after bowing out of the women’s foil individual event at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, where she fell to Singapore’s Maxine Wong, 15-2, in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
Despite the early exit, Catantan said her Asian Games debut gave her valuable experience competing against Asia’s top fencers.
“I actually have mixed emotions now that my first Asian Games is over. I feel relieved at the same time, but I also feel like I could have done better,” Catantan told The Flame.
The Asiad capped a demanding stretch for the Thomasian fencer, who balanced occupational therapy board exam preparations with training for international competitions.
Catantan admitted that juggling both made her preparation more challenging than expected, but she still viewed her Asian Games stint as an opportunity to grow as an athlete.
“It didn’t really go as I hoped, but it was still a good experience because the Asian Games is such a strong competition, and I learned a lot from it,” she said.
With her Asiad campaign now over, Catantan will shift her focus back to UST after sitting out Season 88 to prioritize her professional career as an occupational therapist.
“Actually, the plan was to take a break because I felt like I will struggle to juggle everything, especially since I wanted to focus on the SEA Games and then take the boards right after,” she said.
“I had a little bit of hesitation about going back, but as I said after my last UAAP season, until I have a chance to fight, I will still fight for UST.”
Now pursuing her Master’s in Occupational Therapy at UST, Catantan said she does not regret taking a year away from collegiate competition.
“I don’t really regret taking that one-year UAAP break because I feel like I’ve grown a lot during that time, and I’m excited to bring everything I’ve learned back to the UAAP,” the fencer said.
Her return will nevertheless require an adjustment period after missing an entire season with the team.
“I know this season is going to be different,” Catantan said. “I missed some of my teammates’ last playing year, so I’ll need to adjust again and work on building good team chemistry,” she said.
Catantan enters her final UAAP campaign after a historic Season 87, where she captured the women’s foil title and MVP honors while helping UST secure its first-ever overall women’s fencing championship and snap a 29-year title drought. F
