By WAYLON GALVEZ
For the second time in a month, world No. 1 e-kata fighter James De los Santos recorded a golden treble as he displayed excellent routine, poise and power.
Results from three tournaments that came out Monday night saw De los Santos topping the third edition of the Athletes E-Tournament, the third leg of the Okinawa E-Tournament World Series, and the 3rd Dutch Open E-Tournament.
The title wins improved his gold medal haul to 33 with a couple more events on tap before year 2020 ends.
“Not once, but twice,” said De los Santos, referring to his earlier hat-trick early this month. “To score another hat-trick by winning my 31st, 32nd, and 33rd gold medal is another personal record and achievement before the year ends.”
“But it’s not over yet for me. I still have around three tournaments left to finish before I exit the year 2020 with a bang. I’m just hoping for the best (to stay No. 1),” he added.
In winning the gold in the Athletes E-Tournament, delos Santos outlasted American Alfredo Bustamante, 25.66-25.06.
In the Okinawa World Series, De los Santos beat Matias Moreno-Domont of Switzerland 25.34-24.48, and downed Silvio Cerone-Biagioni of South Africa 24.4-23.8 in the Dutch Open.
Last December 7, De los Santos won three gold medals after ruling the Rome International ENDAS Karate Cup, Euro Grand Prix, and E-Karate Games.
A former national team member, De los Santos now has 13,745 points with former frontrunner Eduardo Garcia a far second with 8,890 points.
