De los Santos wins 12th gold, closes in on top spot

MANILA, Philippines — James De los Santos continued his climb toward the top of the e-kata world rankings on Tuesday.

De los Santos racked up his 12th gold medal after ruling the Venice Cup 2020 as he closed in on the No. 1 spot.

The Filipino karateka is currently the second-ranked e-kata athlete in the world. He was trailing No. 1 Eduardo Garcia of Portugal by just 450 in ranking points heading into the final.

“I’m not far from the no. 1 spot. Just a little more!” he wrote on Facebook.

The former national team member edged Slovenia’s Nejc Sternisa, 25.2-23.7, in the gold medal round.