Delos Santos wins 1st karate gold of the year

MANILA, Philippines — Online karate world No. 1 James “OJ” delos Santos carried the momentum of his 2020 juggernaut by topping the 2021 SportsData eTournament World Series #1 Saturday for his first gold medal of the year.

The 30-year-old delos Santos bested Silvio Cerone-Biagioni of South Africa, 25.3-24.5, to add to his massive haul of 36 gold he harvested last year that catapulted him straight to the top of world rankings.

“Happy to win my first gold of the year but there will be more tournaments ahead and this is a great motivator to start with,” said delos Santos.

After a first-round bye, the two-time Southeast Asian Games bronze medal winner hurdled Nicole Perea of France, 24.9-23, Cornelius Johnsen, 24.5-23.1, and Nawapon Pattanasakoo of Germany, 24.6-23.8.