After her stellar run in the Paris Olympics, fencer Samantha Catantan targets a solid showing at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand after settling for a silver medal in the women’s foil last year.

Catantan said she will make the most of her rehabilitation period after her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery last August.

She will return to the United States on Saturday to continue her masteral studies at Penn State University and continue her 10-month rehab.

“For now, we want to finish the whole recovery because we rushed it last year. Now, we want to finish the whole 10 months for the Southeast Asian Games,” Catantan said.

“I’m looking forward to fencing again. During the Olympics I saw how far I can go even with a short time of preparation. For now, I want to focus on rehab and staying healthy.”

During the Phnom Penh Games last year, she went all the way to the final but lost the gold medal to Maxine Wong of Singapore by default after she was not able to compete due to her injury that she sustained during her campaign.

Fast forward a year later, Catantan made an impact in her Olympic debut after a 15-13 upset over Mariana Pistoia of Brazil in the Round of 64 before losing against No. 1 seed Arianna Errigo of Italy, 15-12, in the Round of 32.

Catantan’s efforts did not go unnoticed as she is now at No. 87 in the latest International Fencing Federation rankings.

With the 33rd edition of the biennial meet set from 9 to 20 December 2025, Catantan couldn’t wait to get the gold.

“There’s no fear in getting back because I experienced it last year but I was able to get back and fence again. It’s almost the same and I think I improved despite not competing for 10 months,” Catantan said.

“Sure, there’s some fear of injury but fear of getting back to the sport after an injury? I have no fear of that.”