{"id":6632,"date":"2025-12-01T07:07:52","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T00:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=6632"},"modified":"2025-12-01T07:07:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T00:07:55","slug":"grace-chops-down-historic-win-for-hong-kong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/grace-chops-down-historic-win-for-hong-kong\/","title":{"rendered":"Grace chops down historic win for Hong Kong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>New kings and queens of the sport were crowned on the final day of the 2025 World Karate Championships . <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it was Hong Kong&#8217;s  Grace Lau Mo Sheung, who made history by becoming the first athlete from Hong Kong China to win a world title in women&#8217;s Kata. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She defeated Japan\u2019s Maho Ono with a score of 46.10 to 43.30. Her performance was sharp and confident, and she reached the top after defeating her main rival in all the finals this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mo Sheung Grace Lau stands at the top of the world!\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pOLmPyuvsVY?list=PLhP92QB0EhlhxivycdugDdcW_1FqtuOJA\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Japan\u2019s Kakeru Nishiyama became the new men&#8217;s kata world champion after defeating Italy\u2019s Alessio Ghinami with a score of 46.40 to 44.20. Nishiyama entered as the favourite and lived up to expectations, claiming his 11th consecutive gold medal and improving on the bronze he won two years ago in Budapest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eray Samdan of T\u00fcrkiye claimed his first senior world title after beating Kosovo\u2019s Islam Selmani 4\u20130 in the men&#8217;s kumite -60kg. Already a U21 world champion and a former junior and cadet continental winner, Samdan came in ranked number three in the world and confirmed his rising star status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the women&#8217;s kumite -50kg, Gulshan Alimardanova made the most of her first world championships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Uzbekistani exponent She defeated Malaysia\u2019s Shahmalarani Chandran 6\u20131 and secured her first world title in a demonstration of offensive abilities. After two straight continental crowns, her rise continued on the biggest stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ghaith Afeef of Jordan delivered one of the strongest performances of the day in the men&#8217;s kumite -67kg. He beat Morocco\u2019s Said Oubaya 6\u20130 to win his first world title. Afeef already had a Karate 1-Premier League gold, and this win confirmed his progress at the highest level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ahlam Youssef of Egypt returned to the top of the world with a dominant 9\u20133 win over Slovakia\u2019s Nina Kvasnicova in the women&#8217;s kumite -55kg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was her second world crown after her 2021 triumph, adding to her four continental titles. Energised by massive support from the stands, she controlled the bout from start to finish and used the cheers from local fans to win the first gold of the day for the host country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fellow Egyptian Abdalla Mamduh Abdelaziz defended his world title with a clear 6\u20130 victory over Ukraine\u2019s Andrii Zaplitnyi, earning back-to-back gold medals in the men&#8217;s kumite -75kg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the biggest stars of the sport not only in Egypt but all over the world, Abdalla Mamduh Abdelaziz was one of the crowd favourites, and the energy from the stands carried him through every exchange. He delivered a commanding victory, confirming his status as a big fan favourite.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iran\u2019s Atousa Golshadnezhad took the women&#8217;s kumite -61kg event by surprise as she beat defending champion Li Gong of China 4-2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Golshadnezhad, already a two-time continental champion, pushed through a tremendous season after winning both the Asian title and the Karate 1-Premier League in Hangzhou earlier this year. Her win is one of the biggest upsets of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Karate World Championships | Final and Bronze Medals Bouts \u2013 Morning Session |\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qYNwUA8D0z4?list=PLhP92QB0EhlhxivycdugDdcW_1FqtuOJA\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Egypt\u2019s Youssef Badawy delivered one of the most commanding performances of the day, defeating T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Hasan Arslan 6-0 to claim the men&#8217;s kumite -84kg gold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Already the reigning world champion, Badawy successfully defended the title he last won in Budapest. With three continental crowns and now three world titles, he continues to rule the category. The loud support from the Egyptian fans pushed him to secure Egypt\u2019s third gold medal of the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>France celebrated its first gold of the day as Thalya Sombe defeated Puerto Rico\u2019s Janessa Michelle Fonseca 3-1 for the women&#8217;s kumite -68kg gold. Competing in her first World Championships, Sombe managed to reach the top in impressive fashion. The win also meant powerhouse of France&#8217;s first gold medal at the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Italy earned its first world title of the tournament thanks to Matteo Avanzini in the men&#8217;s kumite +84kg , who defeated Iran\u2019s Saleh Abazari by Hantei after a 2-2 draw. It was Avanzini\u2019s first appearance at a World Championships, and he made the most of it by claiming gold through determination and sharp tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Germany\u2019s Johanna Kneer produced one of the most impressive victories of the day, winning the women&#8217;s kumite +68kg. She beat Kazakhstan\u2019s Sofya Berultseva 8-0, scoring all eight points with one minute remaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a brilliant display of offensive karate and a historic result for Kneer, who won her first world title and Germany\u2019s first crown of the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Karate World Championships | Final and Bronze Medals Bouts \u2013 Afternoon Session |\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CSHs9WGeCYc?list=PLhP92QB0EhlhxivycdugDdcW_1FqtuOJA\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New kings and queens of the sport were crowned on the final day of the 2025 World Karate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-6632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-karate"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kata-men_compressed.jpg",1200,781,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kata-men_compressed-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kata-men_compressed-300x195.jpg",300,195,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kata-men_compressed-768x500.jpg",640,417,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kata-men_compressed-1024x666.jpg",640,416,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kata-men_compressed.jpg",1200,781,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kata-men_compressed.jpg",1200,781,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kata-men_compressed-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kata-men_compressed-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/category\/newsbeat\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Newsbeat<\/a>","tag_info":"Newsbeat","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kata-men_compressed.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6632"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6635,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6632\/revisions\/6635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}