Delos Santos nearing No. 1 ranking

Just 60 points away from being the world’s top karateka, Filipino star James delos Santos is finally getting the attention he deserves—even from the association that once ditched him from the national squad.

Delos Santos added two more titles to his collection after winning the First Euro Grand Prix and e-Karate Games over the weekend—his 14th and 15th crowns since the pandemic started.

He has garnered 8,515 points and remained at No. 2 behind Portugal’s Eduardo Garcia (8,575) in the individual male seniors category for the honor of being ranked the world’s best.

“The hardwork has really paid off,” Delos Santos said. “But not all the points have been tallied yet. So I’m waiting for that moment to make it official.”

Philippine Karatedo Federation (PKF) president Gret­chen Malalad didn’t have to wait to acknowledge his feat.

“OJ’s (Delos Santos) winning streak in the online karate competitions just proves that he is a world-class athlete and should have never been taken out of the [Southeast Asian] Games lineup last year,” Malalad said.

Malalad, three-time SEA Games champion and TV personality, took over the reins of the PKF last year after it was stripped of recognition by World Karatedo Federation due to irregularities that Delos Santos helped uncover.

The association now recognized as karate’s governing body, Karate Pilipinas, however, has not issued any statement on Delos Santos’ latest achievements. PKF excluded Delos Santos from the 2019 SEA Games.

Malalad said Delos Santos deserves to be back on the national team with complete financial backing from the Philippine Sports Commission. INQ