Delos Santos hits summit

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino James delos Santos is now the highest ranked karateka in the male seniors division online rankings.

Delos Santos, 30, has dislodged Eduardo Garcia of Portugal as World No. 1 after tallying a total of 8,950 points as against the latter’s 8575, thanks to a 15-gold harvest since March.

“After seven months of competing in so many tournaments on a weekly basis, the hard work has paid off,” said Delos Santos.

“When I hit No. 2 back in August, I was behind by nearly 3,000 points to No.1. I thought to myself ‘how am I going to reach that.’ I was discouraged at first, but my kata coach Masa Saito, reminded me to take it one tournament at a time,” he added.

Now that he’s on top, Delos Santos vowed to work even harder.