James De los Santos (middle) poses with his students Fatima Hamsain (left) and Julia Marcos (right). Photo courtesy of Moly Hamsain.
MANILA, Philippines—Filipino karateka James De los Santos is closing in to become the best in the world after claiming his 13th gold medal with a dominant showing in the Okinawa E-Tournament World Series.
De los Santos beat Switzerland’s Matias Moreno in the finals of the E-Kata Individual Male Seniors, 25.26-24.6, bringing him closer to world no.1 Eduardo Garcia of Portugal.
Garcia, as per the latest count, has 8,575.00 total points and sits atop the E-Kata Individual Male Seniors rankings but De los Santos is closing in at 8,110.00.
De los Santos is also in the semifinals of the Euro Grand Prix eTournament and that competition will ultimately propel him atop the rankings regardless of the outcome.
“My next goal [after becoming no.1] will be to maintain it,” said De los Santos.
Apart from De los Santos, his students at Maharlika Karatedo Kai of the Philippines International Julia Ian Marcos and Fatima Hamsain also won medals.
Marcos won the gold in the Female E-Kata U21 division defeating Emilie Olafsen of Norway, 24.14-23.32, and the silver in the E-Kata Individual Female Seniors when she lost to England’s Stella Vassiliou via the slimmest of margins, 23.68-23.64.
Hamsain, meanwhile, settled for the silver medal after losing to Norway’s Marion Wester, 24.26-23.88, in the Female E-Kata U15 division.
“The wins of these two MKKPI students made it sweeter for me,” said De los Santos. “I’m very glad to have coached them throughout this tourney.”