Maxine Esteban of Ivory Coast stays positive, saying that she remains focused on her goal of entering the top 20 in the world ranking despite suffering an early exit in the Paris Olympics late Sunday (Manila time) at the Grand Palais in the French capital.

Esteban admitted that her setback to Pauline Ranvier of France — the silver medalist in the previous Summer Games in Tokyo — was truly disappointing but she is turning the heartbreak into motivation that will fuel her in her international campaign.

Competing for Ivory Coast after being dropped from the national team by the Philippine Fencing Association last year, the 24-year-old Esteban marched into the Summer Games oozing with confidence as she ranks No. 27 in the world — the highest ranking ever by a homegrown Filipino fencer.

She was drawn as No. 20, putting her on a collision course with the 13th seed Ranvier in the table of 32 of the women’s foil event.

Buoyed by the home crowd, the French buckled down to work early, erecting a huge lead in the first 24 seconds of their duel, throwing a monkey wrench into the upset bid of the Philippine-born fencer.

Esteban tried to recover but Ranvier did a marvelous job dictating the tempo en route to sealing a masterful 15-7 victory.

“A loss, no matter on what stage, will always be disappointing. There are no excuses. It’s easy to say that this is my first Olympics and that I was facing the silver medalist from the last Olympics,” Esteban, who will fly back to Manila on 7 August, said.

“But the truth is, I never felt like an underdog. For Cote D’Ivoire, for the Philippines, how could I? I always felt like I could win for them and make both my homes proud.”

Still, Esteban remains grateful.

“In my maiden appearance, I am happy to have made a final ranking of No. 23 out of the 34 fencers. It is an honor to fence the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, Pauline Ranvier from France in the T32, who is also my friend,” Esteban, an eight-time Philippine champion before switching nationalities, said.

“For now, I will pick up the lessons from this setback and use it to make me stronger.”

Bright future beckons Esteban.

Competing for a new federation that is giving her all the support she needs, Esteban is now in a solid position to excel. In fact, just a few weeks prior to the Olympics, she emerged with a silver medal in the 22nd African Fencing Championships, painting a very encouraging picture of what lies ahead.

She said she will work hard to emerge as No. 20 in the world and reach her peak by the time the next Olympics unfold in Los Angeles in 2028.

“My goal remains the same. I still want to make it to the world’s top 20 and I hope my result here will help me achieve that,” said Esteban, who enjoyed the support of her entire family in her first ever Olympic appearance.