New Stars

Judo• Annie Lau and Martin Lau

Judo athletes Martin Lau (left) and Annie Lau (right)

Annie Lau and Martin Lau may be young but they have been learning judo for 10 years already. The siblings happened to watch a judo competition at the sports stadium one day and were captivated by the intense scene and atmosphere before their eyes. They later signed up for a judo training course that was held by the LCSD and joined Long Ching Judo Club where they devoted themselves entirely to this sport.

No room for words of hardship in hearts passionate for judo

Due to their passion for judo, Annie and Martin have never slacked off and their enthusiasm and interest hasn’t been diminished in any way by the fast pace of life. The two of them train five days a week for at two to three hours each time and regularly attend physical training organized by the Judo Association of Hong Kong. Although the training is tough, the siblings think that their time is well-spent and have learned to manage their time to accommodate both judo and their studies, as well as leave some time to relax and relieve the stress of training and competitions.

Competing everywhere with eyes on the Olympics

Annie and Martin are currently members of the Hong Kong Judo team and are respectively ranked  second  and  first  among  the  female  and  male  judo  athletes  of  Hong  Kong.  They represent Hong Kong in an average of four international competitions every year and both of them love the time spent training before the competition and the excitement of competing with overseas experts. They consider each competition to be memorable, precious experiences that will help them achieve their dream to compete in the Olympics and win glory for Hong Kong.

Humbly seeking improvement

When asked about their most memorable competition experience, both Annie and Martin spoke of the Asia youth and junior judo championships, except Annie was referring to the first time she participated in the championships in Hainan several years ago and Martin was thinking about his match in Thailand last year. Both of them were impressed by the strength of their opponents in the international competition and became more determined to train harder. They have been training actively for the Macao International Youth Judo Championships in the summer and hope to follow up on their successes in 2014 and win the men’s and women’s division of the championships.

Smiling confidently at their future

Long Ching Judo Club, which Annie and Martin belong to, is a member of the LCSD Community Sports Club Project. The siblings have confidence that judo will receive greater training and assistance and flourish in Hong Kong with the full support of the LCSD and the Judo Association of Hong Kong.