The Philippine national fencing team suffered early exits on the first day of the Fencing World Championships last Wednesday at the AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong.

Southeast Asian (SEA) Games silver medalist Nathaniel Perez was the highlight of the opening day as he advanced to the Round of 64 in the men’s individual foil.

Perez defeated Borys Budovskyi of Canada, 15-12, in the Round of 128 but fell short against Oscar Geudvert of Sweden, 4-15, in the next round.

The rest of the Filipino delegation, however, were not as fortunate as they were sent packing in the Round of 128 of the women’s epee.

Two-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines standout Julianna Gomez suffered a 7-15 defeat to home bet Chu Ka Mong in the first round while SEA Games standout Hanniel Abella also suffered an early exit after a 4-15 loss to Julia Beljajeva of Estonia. Ivy Claire Dinoy also lost 9-15 to Emma Jasz-Bossosy of Hungary.

All is not lost for the Filipino fencers as veteran fencer Noelito Jose will compete in the men’s epee tournament on Thursday while Paris Olympian Sam Catantan will make her return and see action in the women’s foil after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament tear on Friday.