Red-hot De los Santos on verge of another golden double show

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu’s pride James de los Santos got an added boost in his bid to reach the peak of online karate world rankings.

This after the country’s top karateka stormed into the finals of two virtual competitions he joined this week for a crack at another golden double performance.

The 30-year-old De los Santos, representing the International Shotokan Karate Federation of the Philippines, first edged Chrisley Philippart of Belgium, 24.5-23.1, to barge into the championship round of the Mitad Del Mundo Hatamoto Kai e-Tournament.

He then outclassed Hugh Connolly of Ireland, 24.3-23.8, for his second finals appearance in a row via the SportData e-Tournament World Series sponsored by Arazawa.

The former Southeast Asian (SEA) Games double bronze medalist said the World Series is one of the most prestigious e-tourneys because the amount of points given to the winner is four times compared to the other events.

If victorious once again, it will surely jack up De los Santos’ decisive campaign to catch up with world No.1 Eduardo Garcia of Portugal on top of the e-kata world rankings.

De los Santos firmed up his grip of the world No. 2 spot and at the same time substantially narrowed down the gap that separates him and Garcia after coming up with an amazing streak of six straight gold medals that started when he topped the Balkan Open last August 3.

Earlier this month, De los Santos scooped three gold medals within just a 24-hour span underscoring his relentless drive to be on top of the world. He now has a total of eight golds spiced up with two silvers and four bronzes in 15 virtual tilts he took part during the past six months or since the sports lockdown in March due to the global pandemic.