By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
One of the most notable comebacks in Southeast Asian Games history.
Leading 8-5 midway and a point away from crushing the Philippine fencing team’s heart, Indonesia’s Diah Permatasari silenced the hometown crowd.
But the resiliency and toughness of Jylyn Nicanor led her to a comeback, scoring the last two points to shock the Indonesian legend, 15-14.
Nicanor’s win gave the PH squad the very first gold medal in the fencing event of the 30th SEAG, after clinching 2 silver medals and 3 bronzes.
It looked like Permatasari will pull-away after scoring successive hits and blinding combos to overwhelm Nicanor, but the Filipina showed she had nerves of steel and let her game develop midway the match.
Nicanor started to pick-up her rhythm as she then began to score timely hits that surprised the Indonesian.
The last point was a thriller as the judge paused and announced the decision regarding Nicanor’s win after a minute, making Nicanor drown in tears of joy.
