How about the difference of level between domestic tournaments and international ones? He sure did it in the past. That was a few years ago already. Not sure he can/wants to do it again. It was another situation where he came back from a ban with something to prove to the world [at a younger age too]. Right now he has slowly sunk into the rankings and his current level is reflected by his ranking position.
how many of these types of losses do fans need to see to realize momota will never return to 'momota'... never. should he retire? the choice belongs to momota. retirement is a separate issue from a players current quality of play, desire to play, or ranking.
I have the hunch that this year's Japan Open could well be Momota's last competitive international tournament. On the domestic front, he may be contemplating one more All Japan Championship this December (this tournament has a special significance for all Japanese players). Whatever the case, I believe a retirement announcement can be expected within the next few months. ....
Ya, if he do not win or progress deep in the Korea (did he sign up?) or Japan Open, then likely he'd retire this year.
Japan is a super 750, if he can win there, it will definitely be great for his confidence. He plays popov in R1 and maybe LKY in R2.
These guys aren’t exactly pushovers either. I think it is another first round loss incoming. He just lost to Fabian Roth. Is there anything else left to say?
Im hoping with Japan being his home tournament, it might give him the push he needs.There are a lot of upsets with the asian players in canada, i dont think most of them are settled yet from the jet lag etc, which is probably why a lot of top players skipped Canada, might give him a little leeway on losing to Roth i guess..just a hopeful opinion
The writing does seem to be on the wall. Such an unfortunate ending to what was poised to be a long and stellar career. From the gambling ban to the near-fatal car crash to the eye injury to COVID to the nagging back injury… guess it ended up being too much to overcome one after the other. Brilliant while it lasted though.
Absolutely! He lit up the stage. ... And provided fodder for endless debate on this Forum. BC is not the same without him.
Tago boasts six consecutive wins between 2008 and 2013, thereby exceeding Momota's five. Momota has a far more illustrious international record, though.
He did, but only once in 2007. His predecessors, Sato Shoji and Masuda Keita have better records. Actually, Momota would probably have had six wins, had the A Team not been quarantined after an international tourney in December 2021. The quarantine requirement was suddenly decided upon and established while they were abroad; accordingly, the situation was totally out of the players' control. Incidentally, the record for the most wins (a total of eight) is held by Kojima Ippei, who was active (and relatively successful on the international scene) in the 1960s and 70s.
Even if he is not in the top 32, he can still play qualifying rounds to get to the main draw right? Hopefully things get better
I mentioned in 2 years ago on this forum that he’s finished. The biggest weakness he has is the defence, which ironically had been his biggest strength in pre/accident Momota, where opponents couldn’t penetrate his solid defence. Now any low ranked player can defeat him. He should just retire in Japan open ! Before he embarrasses his legacy.
There's nothing embarrassing about losing so long as he's enjoying himself. What's embarrassing is playing half-arsed Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk
Embarrassing is to compete on too high level tournaments. If you want to see Momota smile and enjoy badminton send him to a lower level tournament where he could reach semis.
What's certainly embarrassing is doubling down on really bad takes. At this time two years ago Momota had played a total of three international matches after his accident - two wins, one loss. You really knew then that he was "finished"? Impressive stuff. All the more impressive, because he actually got better from that point on. He came within three points of beating Axelsen during the 21 Denmark Open final, only had to concede in France due to injury (not accident-related), won the Bali 750 tournament comfortably without dropping a set and then again injured himself the following week at the Bali 1000 tournament (once more: not accident-related). It was only after that injury, when his really bad performances began, with constant first round losses against no-names. In short: if you have predicted in summer 21 that Momota would sustain a career-ending back injury in late november 21, I'd like to consult with you on next week's Eurojackpot.
After his accident 3 years ago, he only won 1 tournament, where Victor did not participate. He was knocked out at group stage at the Olympic by an unseeded player who had never beaten him, so the writing was on the wall, where he was seeded 1. Many people had commented at that time, if he could bounce back and some mentioned including me, that could be the the end of him. If I give you my predictions for the Eurolottery, I'd like half of the Jackpot money please!
