Former Southeast Asian Games medalist James Delos Santos bagged his third gold medal in the online Balkan Open karatedo etournament.
The 30-year-old De los Santos outpointed Silvio Cerrone-Biagioni, 25.3-24.5, in the finals of the individual kata men’s division — the second time that he has managed to outscore Cerrone-Biagioni.
This allowed De los Santos to earn more points in his bid to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
De los Santos is now at no. 135 in the world and is the highest-ranked Filipino in the men’s kata under the World Karatedo Federation’s listing.
Last month, De los Santos redeemed himself with podium finishes in two online karatedo tournaments.
Unable to compete last December in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, De los Santos still found a way to stay fit and healthy while in home quarantine.
He has been doing so in the last five months months of the lockdowns that were imposed throughout the country to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
After claiming a silver finish last May, De los Santos took home the gold medal last June in the Korokotta Cup 2020 E-Tournament.
De los Santos showed his best foot forward in virtual kata when he outpointed 18 others from 11 nations.
His efforts allowed him to snare the top honors in the men’s senior individual kata category.
In the finals, De los Santos swept past South Africa’s Silvio Cerone-Biagionil, 5-0.