MANILA, Philippines – Filipino James delos Santos continue to gain ranking points in his quest to become the highest ranked karateka online as he bested Hossein Tani of Iran, 25.5-24.3, on Tuesday to barge into the finals and ensure himself of at least a silver medal in the e-karate games.
The victory set the 30-year-old Delos Santos up against Slovenia’s Nejc Sternisa, who trounced Luxemburg’s Kevin Petry in their own semis duel, in a finale slated Thursday.
“I’ve won against him (Sternisa) twice before, but I won’t let my guard down and I’m still going all out,” said delos Santos.
The two-time SEA Games bronze medalist outclassed United Kingdom’s Jamie Parfitt, 25.1-20.4, to make it to the semis.
Delos Santos had zoomed to World No. 2 after raking in four gold medals, two silver and a bronze in 13 tournaments he joined in a four-month span since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out last March.
Of all his feats, the most impressive came on August 13 when he beat the rival he is determined to catch up — World No. 1 Eduardo Garcia of Portugal — in the Athlete’s E-Tournament.
And add another medal, hopefully a gold, to his growing collection.