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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Karateka James De los Santos beats Slovenian foe to bag fifth gold medal

Karateka James De los Santos beats Slovenian foe to bag fifth gold medal

Published Sep 3, 2020 01:51 pm
James De Los Santos
James De los Santos celebrates after beating Nejc Sternisa of Slovenia 25.9-23.4 in the final of the e-Karate Games 2020. to bag his fifth gold medal in an online meet. (Photo from James De los Santos)

Online karate sensation James De los Santos claimed his fifth gold medal as he downed Nejc Sternisa of Slovenia 25.9-23.4 in the final of the e-Karate Games 2020 last Thursday.

The win propelled De los Santos, the No. 2 ranked player in e-kata, back at the podium after a disappointing campaign in a previous tournament and another one where he skipped due to schedule.

“I’m really happy to clinch my fifth virtual gold,” said De los Santos. “This will push me even more to train harder and eventually reach No. 1 (in the world ranking). I’m really thankful to those who supported me.”

The latest triumph added to the collection of online gold medals by De Los Santos after he ruled the Athletes E-Tournament last month, the Balkan Open eTournament last July, the Korokotta Cup last June and the Palestine International Karate Cup last April.

The 30-year-old De Los Santos earned a final spot by beating Jamie Parfitt of the United Kingdom 25.1-20.4 in the quarterfinal, and Tani Hossein of Iran 25.5-24.3 in the semifinal.

Sternisa, on the other hand, edged Murilo Alvez of Brazil 23.6-23.3 in the quarterfinal and Kevin Petry of Luxembourg 24.3-23 in the Final Four of the virtual tournament.

De los Santos said while he and his Japanese coach Masa Saito are pleased with the fifth gold medal, his goal is to be the top-rated athlete in the world as he tries to catch up with No. 1 Eduardo Garcia of Portugal.

Saito said this is the route he wants for De los Santos.

“As someone coming from a samurai country, we won’t be celebrating until we win the world ranking no 1. This is a path. However, I am very happy with the progress of James,” said Saito.

“He is a very dedicated athlete and his performance gets better in every tournament he joins.”

De los Santos is currently in the semifinal of three more online tournaments, including the E-Champions Trophy World Series, the Dutch Open E-Tournament second leg and the Miyamoto Musashi-Five Rings E-Tournament.

Related Tags

James de los Santos e-Karate Games 2020 e-Karate Games Masa Saito
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