By WAYLON GALVEZ
World No. 1 James De los Santos captured his 23rd gold medal with a win against Alfredo Bustamante, 25.7-24.3, in the Golden League Karate e-Tournament.
It was the fourth gold for the 30-year-old De los Santos this month, thus solidifying his grip for the top spot in the ranking for e-kata male senior’s category of the World Karate Federation. The results were posted Tuesday.
Though he was under the weather, De los Santos said he was able to perform well when he submitted the video Monday.
“I’m really happy that I’ve won this 23rd gold medal,” said De los Santos.
“I won it while I was sick – but don’t worry, it’s not COVID-19). I felt slightly dizzy, but I still managed to perform well. That’s how it is when you’re trying to achieve a goal: there will always be challenges.”
“Like unstable internet, the typhoon season, and now catching a cold. These were humps on the road, but they haven’t stopped me, because the more I wanted to win and remain on top of the rankings.”
After he earned a bye in the quarterfinals, De los Santos defeated Matias Moreno Domont of Switzerland in the semifinal 25.4-23.9 to clinch a spot in the final round of the tournament.
Last month, he ruled the Pune Open India, the 3rd Katana Inter-Continental Karate League, the Golden League Series 2, Venice Cup 2020, the Okinawa World Series, the 1st Euro Grand Prix and the 2nd e-Karate Games 2020.
