FILIPINA fencer Maxine Esteban is now the first Filipina to win a medal in a senior satellite fencing world cup.
The 30th Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist ended up with a silver finish in the 2021 International Fencing Federation FIE Tournoi Satellite held last week in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Esteban was seeded second in the main draw after winning all her five bouts in the poules. She then earned a 'bye' to proceed to the top 8.
For the past few months, she's been training in different countries in Europe to prepare for the postponed SEA Games in Vietnam.
Though she lost to veteran fencer Marta Cammilletti in the final round, Esteban was glad to benchmark the country in the prestige tourney.
"This is my best result so far. I made history! Really happy and proud to see the Philippine flag on the podium in the world stage," she told SPIN Life.
She is the lone Filipina bet in the competition.
In the quarterfinals she defeated home bet Komila Mirzaeva to advance to the semifinals, where she defeated one of the top fencers in Uzebkistan, Umida Ilyosova, to make it to the championship round.
First international competition for Maxine Esteban since SEA Games
Since December 2019, this was Esteban's first international competition.
"I am happy to be able to fence in the international stage again, I am proud of the results. Losing in the final round also really motivated me to train harder," she said.
The victory is expected to boost her world rankings. Esteban is currently the top ranked Filipino foil fencer with seven points.
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