All posts tagged: Kento Momota

Who is Lakshya Sen’s next opponent – Yushi Tanaka? | Badminton News

Who is Lakshya Sen’s next opponent – Yushi Tanaka? | Badminton News

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Yushi Tanaka or Yuji, if you go by the Japanese phonetics, had once told Japanese media that he loves to talk, and once he starts talking, he can’t stop. Now that he’s started winning, the World No 27 will hope he doesn’t stop. At that point, while battling domestic competition and completing a college degree, also winning the inter collegiate, he was still finding his feet on the international circuit. On Saturday, he made the Australian Open Super 500 finals, beating Lin Chun-Yi 21-18, 21-15. Earlier at the Paris World Championships, the Japanese, a late bloomer at 25, had defeated Chinese World No 4 Li Shifeng, to create quite the stir on Day 1 of the Worlds. He is coached by the very popular former World champion Kento Momota, from whom he has learnt defensive rigour. Very unlike the Japanese conservative style in singles, Tanaka is quite an amalgamation of very many players. His original intent is fiercely attacking, with speed bursting abd bustling in him, which explains the presence of his other coach, the …

Why All England Open winner Shi Yuqi is not the stereotypical Chinese champion | Badminton News

Why All England Open winner Shi Yuqi is not the stereotypical Chinese champion | Badminton News

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Shi Yuqi is teaching China’s badminton barons to tiptoe around eggshells, and cultivate patience with athletes who might be physically or mentally weak(er). In between his two All England crowns — 2018 and 2025, Chinese sport has come a long way in learning to accommodate human fragilities — like having public meltdowns after losing, becoming Viktor Axelsen’s bunny on the Tour after repeatedly losing, and crumpling to the floor mid-match and being stretchered off due to high fever. Yuqi is prone to mental health breakdowns and to giving up because the body is crying out in pain physically. But both athlete and the badminton establishment have somehow clung on to not give up on each other. At Birmingham, Yuqi (pronounced yuchi), assured the coaches that their patience and backing was totally worth it, though China won’t ever stop looking for indestructible tall specimens who don’t come with the associated shenanigans. It’s unprecedented in Chinese men’s badminton that gets notoriously fretful over any weakness on court, and given how Lin Dan was followed by Chen Jin …

Kento Momota retirement: Why Japanese legend’s career will not be defined by elusive Olympic glory | Badminton News

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New Olympic champions get crowned all the time. Every four years, at any rate. But Kento Momota will be remembered wistfully amongst the badminton legions, as one that got away. The crown eluded him, but he might well endure in public memory and shuttle’s mythos longer than anyone else with gold around the neck. An overwhelming favourite a year out from the Tokyo Games, Momota finished with one of the most underwhelming heartbreaks there, as he exited the last Olympics at the first stage. On Thursday, less than 100 days away from the Paris spectacle, Momota announced he was letting go of this ultimate dream. Unable to qualify, ranked outside Top 50, the Japanese dwelled on retirement after the Thomas Cup that would be his last assignment. The 29-year-old refused to shed tears in his retirement press conference for all the missed chances, the wretched turn of events with a horrific car accident in 2020, and for what could have been. #BAC2024 This run… simply incredible stuff. #KentoMomota https://t.co/FXqFWLztZZ pic.twitter.com/AjPZgAUmnx — Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) April 18, …

Former Number One Kento Momota Retires From International Badminton At 29

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Two-time world champion Kento Momota said Thursday he is retiring from international badminton aged 29, admitting he had never been the same since a serious car crash four years ago. Japan’s Momota was once badminton’s undisputed king, winning 11 titles in 2019 and losing just six of the 73 matches he played that year. But in January 2020 the vehicle taking him to Kuala Lumpur airport crashed hours after he won the Malaysia Masters. The driver was killed and Momota needed surgery to repair a fractured eye socket. When he returned after a year out Momota suffered double vision and failed to regain the scintillating form that had taken him to world number one, although he did win two more titles. “At the time of the accident I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think to myself, ‘Why me?’,” Momota told reporters in Tokyo on Thursday. Now ranked 52 and having missed out on a place at the Paris Olympics, Momota will retire from Japan’s national team after playing at the Thomas and Uber …

Former world no. 1 Kento Momota announces retirement

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Japanese badminton star Kento Momota announced his retirement on Thursday at a press conference in Tokyo. Momota, the former world no 1, will hang his badminton kits after the Thomas and Uber Cup in Chengdu, People’s Republic of China, where he will represent Japan. The tournaments are scheduled for April 27- May 5. Momota won the Thomas Cup in 2014 in New Delhi. Momota, 29, witnessed a slump in his career when he met with a fatal car accident in Malaysia in January 2020, just before the start of the Malaysia Open. “At the time of my retirement from the national team after the Thomas Cup at the end of this month, I would like to express my gratitude in person. Since the car accident in January 2020, there have been many difficult times, and I have tried to play the way I wanted to play, but I think I have had a fulfilling life in my career as a national team player,” Momota said at the press conference. “At the time of my retirement …