Karate exponent Lau Chi-ming secures kata bronze for Hong Kong at National Games
- Inspired by his sister Grace Lau’s performance in the same event at the Tokyo Olympics, Lau defeated Guangdong opponent in the medal play-off
- Jimmy Lee falls short in men’s 75kg kumite, losing his bronze medal play-off to Shanxi rival
Karate exponent Lau Chi-ming won bronze for Hong Kong at the National Games after a long absence from competition which was brought on by the pandemic and a serious knee injury.
“I was very confident even before the match of winning [bronze] as I came here with the aim of winning gold,” said Lau after the match at Xian Polytechnics University. “But unfortunately I did not perform well enough in the semi-finals,” said the Hong Kong karate player who tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in January last year, requiring surgery. “After losing in the semi-final, I had to contend for bronze and not gold.
“But I still treasure this result very much as this is my first medal in a multi-sport games. I did quite well before at other events such as the World Championships but I still missed out on a medal and got a top-eight position [instead]. Last year in January, I suffered a cruciate ligament injury and needed an operation and then the pandemic came. In fact, this is my first competition since 2019 so I am very happy to have won a medal.”
Lau Chi-ming inspired by sister Grace Lau’s Olympic success in search of karate medal
The karate bronze is the fourth medal for Hong Kong in the Games so far after the track cycling team captured one gold and two bronze medals. Jimmy Lee Ka-wai was close to adding another bronze for Hong Kong but lost his third place play-off to Gao Xuanyi of Shanxi in men’s 75kg kumite.
Covid-19 toughest opponent for Hong Kong at China National Games
“He has beaten Mu Shike many times before in the semi-finals but unfortunately it did not happen today,” she said. “His performance in the play-off was very impressive but you still have to see how your opponent performs. My brother controlled his emotions very well in his performance which is worth more than a bronze medal.”
Lau also thanked the support of the Hong Kong people as his play-off match was covered live in the city, saying: “I am so happy to see the support for athletes have been extended from the Olympics to the National Games. Thank you very much!”
In beach volleyball, Hong Kong women’s pair, To Wing-tung and Kong Cheuk-yee lost their second match in a row to Chongqing 21-19, 21-17. The men’s team also suffered a 21-15, 21-9 defeat by Hubei in their first match.
