Kento Momota

Kento Momota (桃田 賢斗, Momota Kento, born 1 September 1994) is a Japanese badminton player. He is known to have a skillful and relentless play style on court. He has won several major badminton tournaments including two World Championships titles, two Asian Championships titles, and one All England title. Recently, Kento Momota entered into Guinness Book of World Records for “The most Badminton Men’s Singles Titles in a Season – 11", between March 3 & December 15, 2019.[1]

Kento Momota
桃田 賢斗
Kento Momota at the Yonex German Open 2019
Personal information
CountryJapan
Born (1994-09-01) 1 September 1994
Mino, Kagawa, Japan
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight68 kg (150 lb)
HandednessLeft
CoachYosuke Nakanishi
Men's singles
Career record335 wins, 78 losses
Highest ranking1 (27 September 2018)
Current ranking1 (17 March 2020)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Japan
World Championships
2018 Nanjing Men's singles
2019 Basel Men's singles
2015 Jakarta Men's singles
Sudirman Cup
2015 Dongguan Mixed team
2019 Nanning Mixed team
Thomas Cup
2014 New Delhi Men's team
2018 Bangkok Men's team
Asian Games
2018 Jakarta Men's team
Asian Championships
2018 Wuhan Men's singles
2019 Wuhan Men's singles
Asia Team Championships
2016 Hyderabad Men's team
World Junior Championships
2012 Chiba Boys' singles
2012 Chiba Mixed team
2011 Taipei Boys' singles
Asian Junior Championships
2012 Gimcheon Boys' singles
2012 Gimcheon Mixed team
2011 Lucknow Boys' singles
BWF profile

Career

Kento Momota started his badminton career from junior level with quite perfect results. Momota's badminton talent has been seen since he was a child. The player born in Mitoyo, Kagawa Prefecture, on September 1, 1994, started to wrestle with feathers since he was in the second grade of elementary school. He won the first title in a fairly prestigious tournament in Japan, the All Japan Elementary School Championships. Kala's Momota, who was in grade 6, came out as a champion in the men's singles number. After elementary school, Momota continued his studies in Junior High School in Fukuoka Prefecture. In his third year, he again won a similar tournament but at the junior level, the All Japan Junior High School Championships. Graduating from junior high school, Momota studied at the Fukuoka High School.

2011

Momota's presence was increasingly visible as he took part in a bigger race, the 2011 World Junior Championships held in Taiwan. Even though Momota did not make it as a champion, it was a valuable lesson when he lost in the semifinal to the Malaysian Zulfadli Zulkiffli who came out as the 2011 World Junior Champion. Towards the end of 2011, Momota began to compete with his seniors in the All Japan Badminton Championship or 2011 Japan National Championship. Momota lost to Kenichi Tago in the final. Even so, his performance was noticed by the Nippon Badminton Association (NBA). Momota began to join the Japanese national team and was expected to become a future star.

2012

Young Momota continued to learn from his defeats. Momota participated in the 2012 Asian Junior Championship held in Gimcheon, South Korea. Learning from his mistakes in 2011, he avenged his defeat in 2011 by becoming 2012 Asia Junior Champion after defeating Malaysian representatives, Soong Joo Ven in two straight games, 21-13, 22-20. In the same year, Momota also won the World Junior Championship held in Chiba, Japan. Appearing at home, Momota managed to donate gold in public. In the final round, he beat the mainstay of China, Xue Song through a very tight rubber game match. Momota won 21-17, 19-21, 21-19

2013

The promising Momota prospect attracted the attention of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation, the badminton club of NTT East which finally succeeded in asking for his hand to join. Momota officially joined the club that raised its name since April 2013. NTT is the largest telecommunications company in Japan. By joining the NTT East club, Momota was ready with the consequences of also working at the company. Momota who was then 19 years old had begun to learn to manage time management in such a way. He began to get used to dividing his time to work, practicing on the Japanese national team, and being active in his club.

In 2013, Momota who started the youth competition was sent to the International Challenge (IC) competition level. Satisfactory results in Momih in the IC satisfaction series in Europe. Momota managed to emerge as champion in Estonia, Sweden and Austria. Momota was immediately forged in a series of Grand Prix / Gold (GP / GPG) tournaments and even superseries (premiers) throughout 2013. In tournaments with higher castes, Momota could not immediately become a champion. Great achievement does require a process that is not instant, that's the sentence that would be right for Momota who at that time really struggled with often crawl from the qualifying round.

2014

He won all his matches during Japan's maiden Thomas Cup victory in 2014, playing second men's singles behind Kenichi Tago.

2015

In 2015, He was the first Japanese player to win the Singapore Open. By winning that title, he became the first Japanese player to successfully capture a Super Series in Men's Singles and currently holds the record as the youngest Super Series champion in that category.In the 2015 Sudirman Cup, he repeated his feat in Thomas Cup to help Japan secure a spot as a runner-up. He once again made history in the BWF World Championships 2015 held in Jakarta. He became the first Japanese player to win a medal in the Men's Singles category of the prestigious tournament. He made it to the semi-finals, before losing to Chen Long in straight sets. Rounding off the year, he won the 2015 BWF World Superseries Final in Dubai. He competed at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon as well as the 2016 Badminton Asia Team Championships in Hyderabad.

2018

Momota returned to the Japanese national team at the end of 2017. However, due to a lack of his points, he was not qualified to play in the 2018 All England Open, a significant Super 1000 tournament which was held in March.[2] On 28 April, he won the 2018 Asian Championship which was held in Wuhan, after defeating Chen Long of China in the finals with a score of 21–17, 21–13.

On 5 August, he won the World Championships title in Nanjing, China after beating Shi Yuqi from China in the finals with a score of 21–11, 21–13. He also won 4 BWF World Tour titles: Indonesia Open, Japan Open, Denmark Open and Fuzhou China Open. Momota became the first Japanese men's singles player to occupy the World number 1 in the BWF World ranking in 27 September.[3]

2019

Momota started the 2019 season by competing at the Malaysia Masters as the first seeds, but his pace stopped by Kenta Nishimoto in the first round.[4] He then reached the final in Indonesia Masters, but losing to Anders Antonsen of Denmark.[5] Momota claimed his first title in 2019, by winning the German Open a Super 300 tournament.[6] In March 2019, he won the All England Open beating Viktor Axelsen from Denmark in the finals in 3 sets with a score of 21–11, 15–21, 21–15, becoming the first Japanese man to win the All England Open title.[7]

In April, Momota won his second Asian Championships title in Wuhan, China beating home favorite Shi Yuqi in three games 12–21, 21–18, 21–8.[8] He also won the Singapore and Japan Open titles. In August, he reclaimed his World Champion title, beating Anders Antonsen 21–9 and 21–3. In doing so, Momota became only the fourth player to win back-to-back titles on a short, all-Chinese list that includes Yang Yang, Lin Dan and Chen Long.[9] After that, he won his first title in China and Korea Opens, also defend his title at Denmark Open and Fuzhou China Open.[10]

Momota closed his stellar 2019 year by winning his 11th title, the World Tour Finals by beating Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 17–21, 21–17, 21–14.[11] Previously in the gala dinner of the same event, he was awarded as the BWF Best Male Player of the Year.[12] He is also nominated as Best Male Athlete by the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive.[13]

2020

Momota began the 2020 season as the men's singles world No. 1. He competed at the Malaysia Masters as the first seeded, defeated Indian's Kashyap Parupalli and H. S. Prannoy in the first and second round with two straight games, later in the quarter final beat Huang Yuxiang in the rubber games.[14] In the semi final, he dashed the host's hopes by bowing Lee Zii Jia with the score of 21–10, 21–19.[15] Despite not being at his physical best, Momota pulled off a good show to beat the 2017 World Champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 24–22, 21–11 in the final. He extended his head-to-head record over Axelsen to a whopping 14–1.[16] After winning the Malaysia Masters, Momota was involved in an accident on the way to the airport. He suffered a broken nose as well as injuries to his lips and face.[17]

2021

In January 2021, Momota tested positive for COVID-19 prior to travelling to Bangkok. As a result, the entire Japanese team withdrew from the three tournaments scheduled to occur that month in Thailand: the Yonex Thailand Open, Toyota Thailand Open, and World Tour Finals.[18]

Achievements

BWF World Championships

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2015 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia Chen Long 9–21, 15–21 Bronze
2018 Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park, Nanjing, China Shi Yuqi 21–11, 21–13 Gold
2019 St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland Anders Antonsen 21–9, 21–3 Gold

Asian Championships

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2018 Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China Chen Long 21–17, 21–13 Gold
2019 Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China Shi Yuqi 12–21, 21–18, 21–8 Gold

BWF World Junior Championships

Boys' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2011 Taoyuan Arena, Taoyuan City, Taipei, Chinese Taipei Zulfadli Zulkiffli 18–21, 18–21 Bronze
2012 Chiba Port Arena, Chiba, Japan Xue Song 21–17, 19–21, 21–19 Gold

Asian Junior Championships

Boys' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2011 Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, Lucknow, India Zulfadli Zulkiffli 18–21, 19–21 Bronze
2012 Gimcheon Indoor Stadium, Gimcheon, South Korea Soong Joo Ven 21–13, 22–20 Gold

BWF World Tour (14 titles, 4 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[19] is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour are divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[20]

Men's singles

Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result
2018 Malaysia Open Super 750 Lee Chong Wei 17–21, 21–23 Runner-up
2018 Indonesia Open (2) Super 1000 Viktor Axelsen 21–14, 21–9 Winner
2018 Japan Open (1) Super 750 Khosit Phetpradab 21–14, 21–11 Winner
2018 China Open Super 1000 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 21–23, 19–21 Runner-up
2018 Denmark Open (1) Super 750 Chou Tien-chen 22–20, 16–21, 21–15 Winner
2018 Fuzhou China Open (1) Super 750 Chou Tien-chen 21–13, 11–21, 21–16 Winner
2018 BWF World Tour Finals World Tour Finals Shi Yuqi 12–21, 11–21 Runner-up
2019 Indonesia Masters Super 500 Anders Antonsen 16–21, 21–14, 16–21 Runner-up
2019 German Open (1) Super 300 Kenta Nishimoto 21–10, 21–16 Winner
2019 All England Open (1) Super 1000 Viktor Axelsen 21–11, 15–21, 21–15 Winner
2019 Singapore Open (2) Super 500 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 10–21, 21–19, 21–13 Winner
2019 Japan Open (2) Super 750 Jonatan Christie 21–16, 21–13 Winner
2019 China Open (1) Super 1000 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 19–21, 21–17, 21–19 Winner
2019 Korea Open (1) Super 500 Chou Tien-chen 21–19, 21–17 Winner
2019 Denmark Open (2) Super 750 Chen Long 21–14, 21–12 Winner
2019 Fuzhou China Open (2) Super 750 Chou Tien-chen 21–15, 17–21, 21–18 Winner
2019 BWF World Tour Finals (1) World Tour Finals Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 17–21, 21–17, 21–14 Winner
2020 Malaysia Masters Super 500 Viktor Axelsen 24–22, 21–11 Winner

BWF Superseries (4 titles)

The BWF Superseries, launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,[21] is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries has two level such as Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries features twelve tournaments around the world, which introduced since 2011,[22] with successful players invited to the Superseries Finals held at the year end.

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2015 Singapore Open (1) Hu Yun 21–17, 16–21, 21–15 Winner
2015 Indonesia Open (1) Jan Ø. Jørgensen 16–21, 21–19, 21–7 Winner
2015 Dubai World Superseries Finals (1) Viktor Axelsen 21–15, 21–12 Winner
2016 India Open (1) Viktor Axelsen 21–15, 21–18 Winner
  BWF Superseries Finals tournament
  BWF Superseries Premier tournament
  BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

The BWF Grand Prix has two levels, Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007.

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2017 Canada Open Kanta Tsuneyama 20–22, 21–14, 14–21 Runner-up
2017 Dutch Open (1) Yu Igarashi 21–10, 21–12 Winner
2017 Macau Open (1) Ihsan Maulana Mustofa 21–16, 21–10 Winner
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (7 titles)

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2013 Estonian International Eetu Heino 20–22, 21–15, 21–15 Winner
2013 Swedish Masters Eric Pang 21–9, 16–21, 21–18 Winner
2013 Austrian International Riichi Takeshita 21–19, 21–12 Winner
2017 Yonex / K&D Graphics International Kevin Cordon 21–7, 21–15 Winner
2017 Belgian International Lee Cheuk Yiu 21–14, 21–18 Winner
2017 Czech Open Thomas Rouxel 21–8, 21–14 Winner
2018 Vietnam International Goh Giap Chin 21–9, 21–15 Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

Gambling scandal

On 7 April 2016, Momota admitted visiting an illegal casino in Tokyo after casino staff reported him gambling there "frequently". In a board meeting, it was revealed that he gambled away 0.5 million yen during 6 visits to the casino with his teammate, Kenichi Tago, who spent 10 million yen after 60 visits to various casinos.[23][24] The Nippon Badminton Association secretary general Kinji Zeniya said it would “probably be impossible” for Momota to participate in the Rio 2016 Olympics, with frequent gambling being punishable by law with a prison sentence of up to 3 years.[25][26][27][28] He was banned from playing until late 2017 for this.

Career overview

Performance timeline

National team
  • Junior level
Team events201020112012
Asian Junior Championships GS QF Gold
World Junior Championships 5th 5th Silver
  • Senior level
Team events2014201520162017201820192020
Asian Championships N/A Silver N/A QF N/A
Asian Games QF N/A Bronze N/A
Thomas Cup Gold N/A A N/A Silver N/A
Sudirman Cup N/A Silver N/A A N/A Silver N/A

Individual competitions
  • Junior level
Event201020112012
Asian Junior Championships R4 (BS)
R2 (BD)		 Bronze (BS)
R2 (BD)
R2 (XD)		 Gold
World Junior Championships R3 (BS)
R2 (XD)		 Bronze (BS)
R3 (BD)		 Gold
  • Senior level
Event201220132014201520162017201820192020
Asian Championships R3 R2 R1 w/d A Gold Gold N/A
Asian Games N/A R16 N/A R16 N/A
BWF World Championships N/A A R1 Bronze N/A A Gold Gold N/A
Tournament201820192020Best
BWF World Tour
Malaysia Masters A R1 W W (2020)
Indonesia Masters A F w/d F (2019)
German Open QF W N/A W (2019)
All England Open A W A W (2019)
Swiss Open QF A N/A QF (2018)
Singapore Open A W N/A W (2015, 2019)
Korea Open QF W N/A W (2019)
China Open F W N/A W (2019)
Japan Open W W N/A W (2018, 2019)
Denmark Open W W w/d W (2018, 2019)
French Open SF QF N/A SF (2014, 2018)
Fuzhou China Open W W N/A W (2018, 2019)
Hong Kong Open SF w/d N/A SF (2018)
Indonesia Open W R2 N/A W (2015, 2018)
Malaysia Open F R2 N/A F (2018)
BWF World Tour Finals F W DNQ W (2015, 2019)
Year-end Ranking[29] 1 1 1
Tournament201820192020Best
Tournament201220132014201520162017Best
BWF Super Series
All England Open A QF QF QF A QF (2014, 2015, 2016)
India Open A R1 R1 R2 W A W (2016)
Malaysia Open A QF QF R2 A QF (2014, 2015)
Singapore Open A QF R1 W w/d A W (2015)
China Masters A QF GPG QF (2013)
Australian Open GPG QF R2 A QF (2014)
Indonesia Open A R1 W A W (2015)
Korea Open A R2 SF A SF (2015)
Japan Open A R2 R1 R2 A R2 (2013, 2015)
Denmark Open A R1 R2 QF A QF (2015)
French Open A R1 SF R2 A SF (2014)
China Open R1 SF QF R2 A SF (2013)
Hong Kong Open A R1 R1 R2 A R2 (2015)
BWF Superseries Finals DNQ GS W DNQ W (2015)
Year-end Ranking 90 17 13 3 N/A 48 3
Tournament201220132014201520162017Best
Tournament20102011201220132014201520162017Best
BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold
Malaysia Masters A R2 A R2 (2012)
German Open A R2 R3 w/d A R3 (2014)
Australian Open A R3 SS R3 (2013)
U.S. Open A SF A SF (2013)
Canada Open A R2 R3 w/d A F F (2017)
Vietnam Open A QF A QF (2012)
Dutch Open A W W (2017)
Korea Masters R2 A R2 (2010)
Macau Open A R2 R1 R2 A W W (2017)
Indonesian Masters A R1 A N/A R1 (2012)

Record against selected opponents

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi finalists, and Olympic quarter finalists. Accurate as of 14 January 2020.[30]

References
  1. "Kento Momota sets Guinness World Record". www.thegodofsports.com. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  2. "全英赛日本队强势崛起 中国衰落印尼丹韩有特点". www.sohu.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  3. "Japan's Kento Momota tops men's singles ranking for the first time". www.olympicchannel.com. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  4. Etchells, Daniel (16 January 2019). "Top seed Momota sent packing by compatriot Nishimoto in first round of BWF Malaysia Masters". www.insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  5. Morgan, Liam (27 January 2019). "Antonsen stuns world champion Momota to clinch first major title at BWF Indonesia Masters". www.insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  6. "Badminton: Momota, Yamaguchi win as Japan dominates German Open". kyodonews.net. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  7. "Kento Momota wins historic first All England Open title". www.japantimes.co.jp. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  8. "Momota hails 'new badminton generation' after Japan double". sports.yahoo.com. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  9. Palar, Sanjeev (25 August 2019). "Unbeatable Kento Momota and superb PV Sindhu clinch 2019 Badminton World Championships crown". www.olympicchannel.com. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  10. Etchells, Daniel (20 October 2019). "Momota and Tai seal defence of titles at BWF Denmark Open". www.insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  11. Palar, Sanjeev (15 December 2019). "Kento Momota wins 11th title of 2019 as Chen Yufei takes women's crown at World Tour Finals". www.olympicchannel.com. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  12. "World No. 1 Kento Momota named BWF Player of the Year". www.japantimes.co.jp. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  13. "Vote for the champions 2019: poll now open". www.aipsmedia.com. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  14. "Kento Momota advances to Malaysia Masters semis". www.japantimes.co.jp. 11 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  15. "Momota to face Axelsen in Malaysia Masters final". www.channelnewsasia.com. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  16. "Momota shows class en route to beating Axelsen in men's singles final". www.thestar.com.my. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  17. "Badminton world No. 1 Kento Momota slightly injured in crash in Malaysia; driver dies". www.japantimes.co.jp. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  18. "Japan to skip Thailand Open as Momota tests positive for COVID-19". The Japan Times. Agence France-Presse; Jiji Press. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  19. Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  20. Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  21. "BWF Launches Super Series". Badminton Australia. 15 December 2006. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007.
  22. "Yonex All England Elevated To BWF Premier Super Series Event". www.ibadmintonstore.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  23. "バドミントン男子・桃田賢斗、田児賢一　賭博行為について会見" (in Japanese). 8 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  24. "Japan ace Momota 'regrets betrayal' as possible Rio ban looms". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  25. "Badminton stars Momota, Tago admit visiting illegal casinos". The Japan Times Online. 7 April 2016. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  26. "Kento Momota gambles with Rio Olympic berth after casino visit". The Indian Express. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  27. "Japan badminton ace Kento Momota facing Rio chop over casino visit". France 24. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  28. "S'pore Open men's champ axed from tournament". TODAYonline. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  29. "BWF World Rankings". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  30. "Kento Momota Head to Head". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
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