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Grace Lau can focus on her Olympic campaign now her qualification has been confirmed by the governing world body. She won a bronze medal at the 2018 Indonesia Asian Games. Photo: Reuters

Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s Grace Lau gets early qualification ‘present’ as karate makes Olympics debut in Tokyo

  • The 28-year-old Lau is confirmed for Tokyo after qualification is ended early because of the coronavirus crisis sweeping the world
  • World number four Lau is a medal hopeful for Hong Kong after a string of solid performances

Karate exponent Grace Lau Mo-sheung has secured her first trip to the Olympics after the world governing body ended the qualification early for Tokyo 2020 because of the coronavirus crisis.

The 28-year-old Hong Kong Sports Institute elite athlete ranks forth in the women’s kata standings as the World Karate Federation announced its first batch of athletes who have earned qualification for the Games. She is in Miami at a training camp until the Olympics start in July.

A statement from the international federation said: “Due to the cancellation of the last qualifying tournaments because of the coronavirus outbreak, the first stage of the Olympic qualification pathway has been finalised. The four highest-ranked athletes per gender and Olympic event claim the 32 places allocated by standings”.

Karate is making its Olympic debut in Tokyo but has already been excluded from the medal programme in Paris in 2024.

Karate player Grace Lau Mo-sheung with her Asian Games bronze medal. Photo: Hong Kong Olympic Committee

Lau claims Hong Kong’s first ever karate World Championships medal

“I feel both excited and happy, and will keep training hard for the Olympics no matter what happens,” said Lau, one of Hong Kong’s medal hopefuls after her solid performances on the international stage. “The training is going well here in Miami along with some top athletes from the United States and I have no plan to return to Hong Kong prior to the Olympic Games.”

Lau has been training and competing overseas since February’s 1-Premier League in Dubai before arriving in the United States last week.

The World Karate Federation announces the first batch of 2020 Tokyo qualifiers through the world rankings.

Former world champion Kiyou Shimizu of Japan ranks second in the standings and would take the host’s slot which means Lau, a bronze medallist at the 2018 Asian Games after a narrow 3-2 defeat by Shimizu in the semi-finals, will qualify anyway, along with the fifth-placed athlete.

There will be 10 entries in each karate category at the Tokyo Olympics, the first four from the rankings, three from a world qualification tournament scheduled for Paris in May and two from continental representation or Tripartite Commission invitation. Japan occupies one slot as the host.

Grace Lau collects her third gold medal at last year’s East Asian Championships at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Paris Games pulls karate but Lau still focused on Tokyo 2020

Lee Chun-ho, Hong Kong’s first elite athlete to suffer from the coronavirus, was preparing for the world qualification tournament with a training stint in Austria and France, but was forced to return home after the sudden increase in cases across Europe. He felt sick after arriving home over the weekend and went to visit a doctor. Lee was confirmed on Wednesday and is now receiving treatment in hospital.

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This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Hong Kong’s Grace Lau earns karate ticket
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