18-year-old Boronganon, Andre Dominic Agatep, is one of the Filipino junior fencers, who recently won the Junior Men’s Saber gold medal for Team Philippines, defeating his Vietnamese rival Truong Huy Hoang, during the 2023 South East Asian Fencing Federation (SEAFF) Championships held on January 13 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Agatep, an AB Sociology student of Ateneo de Manila University, started joining local tournaments and national rankings five years ago. He took practice and preparation seriously.
His skills were developed more when he fenced for UAAP until he was set to compete in International competitions such as the 2022 Junior World Championships in Dubai and the recent 2023 SEAFF Championships in Malaysia.
“It was pretty tough, especially sa seniors’ event, we went up against known top fencers from sea countries, but then lumaban pa rin kami and gave all our best. For the junior’s event naman, unexpected sa sarili ko na mananalo ako,” said Agatep.
Agatep credits his coach, Edward Daliva, for guiding and helping him develop not only his skills but also his mental fortitude.
“I also would like to thank my family, friends and my teammates, especially my parents for always supporting me in everything that I do,” said Agatep.
According to Agatep, their team is determined to compete more and climb the ranks to take the Philippines to the international stage again.
Winning another gold medal on the 2023 SEAFF stage was indeed a career-high for Agatep. Proving that he could be best at his sport is a great stimulus.
“Nothing worth having comes easy. To be able to achieve something, you truly must work hard for it. Practice and training are all part of the development of oneself,” said Agatep on his advice to his co-athletes.
Congratulations, Andre! We are proud you!
#BoronganonDisiplinadoAko
