Kento Momota is truly in the worst period of his career. The former world number one men’s singles even said that badminton was no longer fun for him. The car accident that he experienced after winning the Malaysia Masters in 2020 had a major impact on the continuation of Kento Momota’s career.
As a result of the accident, Momota suffered a broken nose and injuries to his lips and face. It didn’t stop there, bad luck hit Momota again the following year, where he tested positive for Covid-19.
The Japanese badminton player then returned to the field in March 2021 by appearing in the All England tournament. Being the first seed, Momota lost two straight games to Malaysia’s men’s singles, Lee Zii Jia, in the quarter-finals. After that, Kento Momota had a bad result at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where he was immediately knocked out in the group stage.
Towards the end of 2021, precisely in November, Momota successfully won the Indonesia Masters tournament which became his first title after an accident. However, after that Momota was hit by a back injury which made his appearance decline too.
In an interview with former Japanese women’s badminton player, Kimiko Jinnai, last September, Momota was asked about how he sees badminton today. “Some time ago, I remember you saying that I like badminton because it’s fun. How about now?” asked Jinnai. Momota’s answer was quite surprising. He admitted, currently badminton is a very painful thing for him.
“No, not now. It hurts a lot,” Momota replied. “I no longer have the passion, but I have to do it. I just can’t win. Now I’m in a situation where I don’t know what I’m lacking of in myself,” added the 28-year-old athlete.
This year, Momota had played well by reaching the final of the Malaysia Open 2022. However, in the final match, he lost 4-21 and 7-21 to the current number one men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen. “(The field) didn’t scare me, but I started to lose my confidence when I played,” said Momota.
Momota then continued, he has always trained as well as possible in the past year. “I don’t have any specific goals in mind, but I try what I can in my daily training. I’ve been trying to improve what my weaknesses are and keep practicing with that mindset in my training,” says Momota.
In the latest BWF ranking list as of October 11, Kento Momota’s ranking plunged to position 9. Coming, Momota is actually scheduled to appear at the Denmark Open 2022 tournament in Odense, 18-25 October. However, Momota has reportedly withdrawn from the BWF World Tour Super 750 category.
