Hong Kong karate exponent Grace Lau training alone in Miami – ‘it’s still too risky going somewhere else’
- Lau left for United States in early March fearing the coronavirus outbreak might hamper her qualification campaign
- The 28-year-old has already secured her ticket to next year’s Olympics by being ranked in the world’s top four
Karate exponent Grace Lau Mo-sheung is staying calm as the pandemic ravages the United States, continuing to train alone in Miami for next year’s Tokyo Games.
Lau left for the United States in early March fearing the coronavirus outbreak in Hong Kong might stop her from competing overseas, which could affect her Olympic qualification campaign.
But she clinched her ticket to Tokyo after the world governing body finalised the first stage of the Olympic qualification pathway in the same month as the pandemic spread globally and the last qualifying tournaments were cancelled.
“The plan was to stay in Miami until July for the Tokyo Games but now the Games have been postponed,” said Lau. “We will continue to train here until the situation improves.
“Although more facilities are opening in the United States, it’s still too risky going to train somewhere else. After all, we don’t foresee many events this year because of the coronavirus.”
