By Waylon Galvez
Former national team campaigner James de los Santos has moved up to No. 2 in the world ranking for e-kata following two impressive performances the previous three weeks that saw him win gold and silver medals.
The 30-year-old De los Santos now has 3270.00 points as he moved past Italy’s Leonardo Birra, who slid to No. 3 with 2735.00 points in the e-kata Individual Male Senior’s category.
No. 1 in the ranking is Eduardo Garcia of Purtugal with 5995.00 points.
“Honestly, I thought I would still be at No. 3 just by a few points,” said De los Santos Thursday in a text message. “There were other tournaments I joined, but I didn’t make it far.”
“However, they too added points along with my recent gold medal win. That’s what shot me to the No. 2 spot.”
Last Sunday, De los Santos captured the gold medal in the Balkan Open eTournament last Sunday. It was his third gold medal after he emerged as champion in the Palestine International Karate Cup last April and in the Korokotta Cup last June.
Late last month, De los Santos captured his second silver medal when he finished second in the Adidas Karate World Open Series E-Tournament. He also settled with silver in the SportData E-Tournament World Series last May and had a bronze in the First Dutch Open last June.
He is set to join his 14th online event this week in the Athlete’s E-Tournament.
