Asian Games: Hong Kong karate star Lau Chi-ming ‘reluctantly’ accepts omission from Hangzhou squad
- The brother of Olympic bronze medallist Grace Lau had been hoping to be selected for competition in September
- But he ultimately missed out on a place to teammate Chris Cheng, who accumulated two more selection points
Lau Chi-ming has missed out on a spot in Hong Kong’s karate squad for the Asian Games in September, despite winning a bronze medal at last year’s National Games.
The brother of Olympian Grace Lau Mo-sheung, who won bronze in Tokyo last summer and will be competing in Hangzhou later this year, Lau Chi-ming missed out on selection to teammate Chris Cheng Tsz-man.
Officials from the city’s Karateo Federation base selection on a points system arranged around results and appearances at various competitions since 2018.
While the pair managed to accumulate the same number of points from competition, Cheng ultimately came out two points ahead of Lau Chi-ming courtesy of his appearance at the 2019 Doha World Beach Games.
“I was a little reluctant, but I respected the selection rules,” said Lau, whose National Games performance earned him four points, matching Cheng’s bronze from the 2018 AKF Asian Championships.
Lau was among seven athletes who tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from the Kazakhstan Asian Championships on December 23 last year.
As a result, he spent 23 days being treated in hospital, and another two weeks quarantining at home.
