Source:
https://scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3190637/hong-kongs-grace-lau-looks-close-gap-grand-winner-list-karate-1
Sport/ Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s Grace Lau looks to close gap in ‘Grand Winner’ list at Karate 1 Premier League in Baku

  • With Olympic champion Sandra Sanchez retiring after World Games, Lau is one of the main contenders to be crowned ‘best of the best’ this season
  • The 30-year-old will bid for gold this weekend as she looks to close the gap on Japan’s Hikaru Ono
Grace Lau has extra motivation to compete in the Premier League in Baku Photo: WKF

With Olympic champion Sandra Sanchez retiring after the World Games in July, Hong Kong’s karateka Grace Lau Mo-sheung is one of the contenders to be crowned Grand Winner.

Spain’s Sanchez won the “best of the best” award in the women’s kata last year, with points tallied from both the 2020 and 2021 seasons, which were heavily affected by the pandemic.

Lau currently sits in second place on the coveted list this season, just 240 points behind Hikaru Ono of Japan, but is hoping to close the gap by winning gold at this weekend’s Karate 1 Premier League event in Baku.

She has never tasted gold, however, in the Premier League, where 990 points are awarded to the winner of each event, with 750 points for second place and 570 points for third.

“Every Premier League stop has at least four Japanese karatekas, so it’s not going to be easy,” the world No 4 said. “My goal for each Premier League is to remain consistent while hoping to gain more points to improve my ranking.”

Grace Lau Mo-sheung poses with her bronze medal at the World Games. Photo: Facebook/Grace Lau
Grace Lau Mo-sheung poses with her bronze medal at the World Games. Photo: Facebook/Grace Lau

Lau moved up to a total 2,070 points on the Grand Winner list after finishing second in Matosinhos and Rabat in April and May, respectively, and third in Fujairah in February.

Another Japanese karateka – world No 6 Kiyou Shimizu – is hot on her heels in third place with 1,980 points.

The 30-year-old Hongkonger, whose training base is in Miami, is in a must-win situation with only one more Karate 1 Premier League event this year after Baku in early October, in a location yet to be confirmed.

She will certainly face some stiff competition this weekend – nearly 400 athletes from 58 countries have registered to compete in the event, which was originally scheduled for 2021 but cancelled because of the pandemic, making it one of the most attended of the season.

Grace Lau of Hong Kong competes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Photo: Reuters
Grace Lau of Hong Kong competes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Photo: Reuters

“I’ve already moved on after the Olympics bronze, but it leaves me with something that helps me a lot in my kata career, including my mental side,” said Lau, whose most recent competition was the World Games in Alabama, where she finished third.

“Once I’ve decided to achieve something, I will try my hardest to put it into action, and to push myself hard. That is how I treat every competition.

“One important thing I learned over the last year is to start every match from scratch, whether it’s training or competition, because every match has different challenges. I know if I dwell on the medals, I’ll be easily beaten by others.”