World best

Grace Lau Mo-sheung has made history by topping the world rankings in women's kata, the first Hong Kong martial artist to gain the accolade.

The World Karate Federation's rankings released yesterday shows the 32-year-old Lau at the top with 7,125 points after being world No 2 since November 2022.

That also means Lau, an Olympic bronze medalist, pipped two Japanese rivals -World Karate Championships 2023 gold medalist Hikaru Ono and Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Kiyou Shimizu - now ranked second and third behind her.

Lau said the news caught her on an ordinary morning of training day.

"I knew the ranking points would update at the start of each month, but I was not the one who noticed I'd had topped the world rankings," Lau said at the Hong Kong Sports Institute.

"Someone asked whether I knew I was now world No 1.

"I was in disbelief and thought the person was joking as I did not expect to climb the rankings before the Karate 1 Premier League tournament at the end of this month in Paris."

Topping the world rankings came quicker than she expected and provided a very happy start to her year.

"I have to practice well, maintain a good mentality and perform well to live up to being world No 1," she said. " Continuing to improve myself is the only way to keep the title."

Lau also took to Facebook to express her excitement.

"Thrilled to announce that I've secured the top ranking in WKF at the very beginning of 2024," Lau said.

"Grateful for the incredible support from my team, friends, and family. This success is a reminder to keep pushing boundaries and keep believing in myself. Here's to an amazing year ahead."

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung was quick to congratulate Lau.

"Lau wrote a glorious page in Hong Kong's karate history," Yeung said. "It's very exciting to see Hong Kong's homegrown athletes ranking among the best in the world again. We're proud of Grace's perseverance."

Lau saw several breakthroughs in the past year, continuing medal successes since 2022 and snatching a medal in all 12 international competitions held in 2023.

She made her way into seven consecutive gold medal matches in the Karate 1 Premier League tournaments, and even beat Japan's Shimizu for her first Asian Karate Championships gold medal in July.

Lau added a bronze medal to her collection in the Hangzhou Asian Games in September and carried her top form into the World Karate Championships in October.

Although she was edged out by Ono by one point in the final of the world championships, Lau still claimed a silver medal to make Hong Kong history, which also marked a career best.

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com