Grace Lau wins Hong Kong’s first World Games medal in Chengdu with karate gold
Hongkonger beats Japanese opponent in Chengdu to improve on her bronze at the last edition in United States
Grace Lau Mo-sheung has won Hong Kong’s first medal at the World Games in Chengdu, after she beat Japan’s Maho Ono in the karate kata final on Friday.
The world No 1 Hongkonger won with an impressive score of 45.3, over Ono’s 43.6, at the Jianyang Cultural and Sports Centre Gymnasium.
Finishing top of the podium for the first time at a multi-sport Games was a moment to savour for the 33-year-old, who had to settle for bronze not only at the 2022 edition in Birmingham, Alabama, but also at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the past two Asian Games.
Lau had earlier in the day beaten Iran’s Fatemeh Sadeghi Dastak 44.9 to 41.9 in the semi-finals to qualify for the final.
Lau had also defeated Ono in June in Rabat, Morocco, claiming her third Premier League gold medal from four outings and the overall title – her third in a row.
Wong Po-Kee, Hong Kong’s chef de mission in Chengdu, said Lau had returned to the World Games in “peak form”, and had showcased “exceptional skills” on the way to the final.