BY WAYLON GALVEZ
Karateka James De los Santos advanced to the final round following his semifinal victory over Angel Sanchez of Bolivia in the Athletes E-Tournament Monday.
The 30-year-old De los Santos received a score of 24.6 points from the judges while Sanchez was given 24.5 points.
The win gave De los Santos a chance not just to claim his fourth gold in online competition but to avenge his two finals setbacks to nemesis Eduardo Garcia of Portugal, who won a controversial finals match last month.
“This will be my third time facing him, and it’s always in the finals match,” said De los Santos.
“I faced him in the SportData E-Tournament World Series last May, and in the Adidas Karate World Open Series last month – where the controversial scoring happened,” he added.
After he earned a bye in the round of 16, De los Santos defeated Alfredo Bustamante in the quarterfinals 24.8-24, before beating Sanchez next.