Former Southeast Asian Games medalist James Delos Santos, who won't be seeking qualification to the Tokyo Olympics, is set to earn his fourth gold medal in recent weeks.
Saying he is not qualified to earn an Olympic berth since he is not a member of the national team, the 30-year-old De los Santos made it to the finals of the Athletes’ E-Tournament's Kata Individual Made Seniors' Division.
“It's going to a be a rivals' match in the finals tomorrow,” said De los Santos in an online statement.
De los Santos is set to meet Portuguese and Club Karate de Olhao bet Eduardo Garcia, who edged Swiss bet Matias Moreno-Domont, 25.1-24, to earn the right to meet the Filipino.
This will be their third meeting in a championship setting.
“It’s a great feeling that I’ve reached another finals. This is the third time I’ve faced Portugal (Eduardo Garcia) in a final match,” added De los Santos, adding he will go all out against Garcia once again.
“I just have to give everything I have. But at the same time, enjoy the moment, let go and set yourself free,” added de los Santos.
The Filipino karateka, who is from the International Shotokan Federation, prevailed over Bolivia's Angel Sanchez, 24-6.-24.5 in the semifinals.
In the quarterfinals, a 24.8-24.0 verdict allowed De los Santos to get past American figher Alfredo Bustamante.
Last month, the Cebu-based De los Santos snared his third gold medal in the online Balkan Open karatedo etournament, outpointing Silvio Cerrone-Biagioni, 25.3-24.5, in the finals of the individual kata men's division.
This was the second time that De los Santos managed to outscore Cerrone-Biagioni.
De los Santos is now at no. 135 in the world and is the highest-ranked Filipino in men's kata under the World Karatedo Federation's listing.
But he is not keen earning points to qualify for the Olympics at this time.