BY WAYLON GALVEZ
World No. 1 James De los Santos claimed his 25th gold medal with a stunning victory over Olympic hopeful and Guinness world record holder Nagy Botond of Hungary in the final round of the 4th Katana Intercontinental League e-Tournament.
After beating Cornelius Johnsen of Norway in the quarterfinal and Nejc Sternisa of Slovenia in the semifinal, the 30-year-old De los Santos scored a thrilling 24.9-24.5 win against Botond in the final.
“This one means a lot,” said De los Santos.
“Aside from being the No. 1 kata player in Hungary, Nagy Botond is No. 34 in the Olympic ranking, and he also holds a Guinness world record of having the fastest roundhouse kick.” (Waylon Galvez)
“His ranking in the Olympics speaks really loud though… that’s why this is a big achievement for me. This again adds up to the points, and there are more events to come,” he said.
Masa Saito, the Japanese coach of De los Santos, said he is happy with the way his athlete is performing.
“Big congratulations to my great friend James. Despite the pressure to win, he is fighting through it and bringing us great excitement and continuous victories. He is not only amazing in physical strength, but also great in his mentality as a kata player.”
