Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 26) — In a time where COVID-19 has forced sports to take a time-out, Filipino karateka James De Los Santos proved he can still bring pride to the country.
Over the weekend, De Los Santos bagged silver in the individual male seniors division of the 2020 SportData E-Tournament World Series Kata #2.
The 30-year old athlete defeated Ireland, Poland, Hungary and Finland to barge into the finals of his category amongst 32 competitors from 23 different countries.
In the unique virtual competition, karatekas record and submit their kata routines to a panel of judges instead of live performances.
In the final round, De Los Santos encountered a close fight against Portugal’s Eduardo Garcia and eventually settled for silver by just 0.3 points.
“I’m very happy with my silver finish, but I do believe there is room for improvement. I’ll continue to train harder for more virtual tournaments to come”, De Los Santos told CNN Philippines.
With his results, De Los Santos was able to climb to World No. 6 and become Asia’s top athlete in virtual kata.
This, however, isn’t the Filipino athlete’s first foray into virtual competitions since the pandemic broke out in the country last March.
In April, De Los Santos clinched gold in the Palestine International Karate Cup.
“Due to the pandemic that we’re facing right now, we’re stuck training at home but this gave me more reason. It’s something that I can always look forward to.”
According to the 2017 SEA Games bronze medalist, it’s important for him to remain in top shape despite being quarantined at home.
He keeps himself busy by virtually training twice-a-day with his conditioning coach, Jay Funtalan in the morning and his Japanese coaches Masa Saito and sensei Kazuo Saito in the afternoon.
“I’m not fond of sitting around and doing nothing. Not only have I been training, I’ve also been teaching kata online to my students. I’d love to accept more to share my knowledge and experience as a kata competitor.”
As the sporting world continues to find ways to adapt to the new normal, De Los Santos encourages his fellow athletes to join virtual competitions.
“I do believe that the pandemic will be around for a while. This is a great way for athletes to keep themselves training because this is something they can look forward to. Every athlete out there can also have the chance to compete internationally because they can just do it from home.”
