James delos Santos now World No. 1 karateka after 15-gold medal haul
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino James delos Santos is now the highest ranked karateka in the male seniors division online rankings.
The 30-year-old delos Santos has dislodged Eduardo Garcia of Portugal as World No. 1 after tallying a total of 8950 points as against the latter’s 8575, thanks to a 15-gold harvest starting last March.
“After seven months of competing in so many tournaments on a weekly basis, the hard work has paid off,” said delos Santos.
The two-time Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist said his Japanese coach Masa Saito pushed him to where he is now.
“When I hit No. 2 back in August, I was behind by nearly 3,000 points to No. 1,” said delos Santos. “I told 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.
After reaching the apex, delos Santos vowed never to relent.
“This journey isn’t over. My new goal is to maintain the No. 1 spot throughout the year, which is a much bigger challenge as there will be other eKata rivals who want the No. 1 spot as well and this will keep me grinding and motivated,” he said.
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