Former Philippine team standout Maxine Esteban rose in the world rankings again.
The 22-year-old Esteban climbed to world no. 39 after going as far as the round of 64 in the women’s foil matches of International Fencing Federation Fencing World Championships in Milan, Italy.
Esteban, who earlier pulled off a 15-9 win over Marta Caride of Portugal in the Round of 128, suffered an 8-12 setback to Eleanor Harvey of Canada in her first outing in the world senior level.
Last month, Esteban reached a new career high of world no. 46, a big 16-point jump from no. 62.
Her good fortunes came months after she switched nationalities, from the Philippines to Côte d’Ivoire, joining the Ivorian national team in an effort to continue her dreams to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. She was earlier dropped from the Philippine team bound for the Cambodia SEA Games.
“The year ahead will certainly be tough with the continuation of the Olympic qualifying events. However, I am confident of God’s continuous grace and faithfulness, I am hoping for a qualification in Paris 2024,” said Esteban in a Facebook message.
During the world meet, world no. 2 Alice Volpi went on to claim the crown after turning back a fellow Italian, 15-10, in the finals.
Esteban is on her third tournament since bagging a bronze medal in the recent African Championships.
“Winning a bronze medal in the African Championship, qualifying once again in the T64 on the world stage, and ending the season with a career-high world ranking of 39, I can finally smile and say that I have survived the biggest and steepest drop in my life,” added Esteban.
In the men’s foil, Peter Files of Croatia eased out Filipino bet Sam Tranquillan, 15-8, in the round of 128. Peter Atencio
Filipino bets Jylyn Nicanor and Jan Michael Bautista bowed out of contention in the group stages of the women’s saber and the men’s epee. Peter Atencio