Kuala lumpur: Fifteen-year-old Lucas Tan Yin Yao has done Malaysia proud by winning gold at the Asian Karate Youth Championships held from August 12-16 in Hangzhou, China. In the true spirit of Merdeka, the relatively unknown Form Two student of SMK Taman Connaught, Cheras, has dedicated his medal to the people of Malaysia celebrating Merdeka this week.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, fresh from his victory in China, the rather shy and quiet Tan now harbors ambitions to be a national champion by winning gold medals for Malaysia at the SEA Games as well as future Olympic Games. Tan said he remains determined and disciplined to pursue his dream of representing Malaysia. "One day, I hope to make Malaysia proud again on a bigger stage," Tan, who was born and raised in KL, told Bernama in a recent interview.

However, Tan, who has a black belt in karate, is keenly aware that achieving these goals won't be easy as it would take a huge amount of discipline and sacrifice to achieve what are surely lofty ambitions. "It would require me to balance my schoolwork and four hours of martial arts training daily, which is not easy. I would have to watch what I eat on a daily basis so as not to put on weight, especially before tournaments, as being above a certain weight category can rule me out from fighting in the competition."

Organized by the Asian Karate Federation and Chinese Karate Association, the championship and training camp was participated in by hundreds of young athletes from 12 Asian and Oceania countries. While there, young athletes also received training from prominent karate champions such as China's Li Gong, Al-Jafari, and Japan's Ayumi Uekusa.