'Shot in the arm' for SAR karate team after three-medal haul

SAR athletes yesterday pocketed three medals, including a gold, at the Karate 1 Series A tournament in Cairo, Egypt.

One of the medalists, 29-year-old Choi Wan-yu, placed first in the female kumite 55-kilogram class after beating Egyptian Hassan Salma with a score of 4-3.

The win holds special significance for Choi as the event marks the first international tournament she has signed up for since the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she suffered a concussion during practice.

"I did not have high hopes at first and would have been satisfied if I were able to show the full range of my abilities," Choi said.

"The gold medal is really meaningful for me as I have never won a K1 medal before. Although this is not a top-tier competition, this is a shot in the arm and proves I can still fight."

In the female kata event, Choi's teammate Tung Yee-yin, 34, snatched silver after losing by 0.66 points to Egyptian Allam Asmaa in the final.

The SAR team managed to bag one more medal after 29-year-old Howard Hung Ho-wai placed third in the male kata event.

Elsewhere in Seoul, Hong Kong's women's epee team, led by top fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai, won a silver medal in the Asian Fencing Championships yesterday. The SAR's medal hopes don't end there however as the men's foil team, led by World No 1 Edgar Cheung Ka-long, will compete in the team event tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's badminton team ran into some bad luck at the Indonesia Open after Tse Ying-suet tested positive for Covid-19. Tse and her partner Jordan Tang Chun-man were subsequently forced to withdraw from the mixed doubles event.
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