Alor Setar: Former World No. 2 Kento Momota who had his suspension for illegal gambling lifted on May 15, 2017, has officially returned to the Japan national team and was placed on the third men’s singles spot at the 2018 Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) held at the Sultan Abdul Halim Stadium, Alor Setar.
Japan started their Group B tie against Kazakhstan on Tuesday through Kenta Nishimoto who had made a name for himself by always finding his best form whenever he plays against Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. Nishimoto demolished Dimitriy Panarin 21-10, 21-10 in the first men’s singles before Kanta Tsuneyama defeated Arthur Niyazov 21-11, 21-9 in the second men’s singles match.
Then, Kento Momota was quick off the mark, making it 3-0 for Japan when he outlasted Khaitmurat Kulmatov 21-7, 21-4. Japan swept pasts Kazakhstan 5-0 with two additional wins from the men’s doubles matches.
“I am very grateful to be able to get back to the court and play badminton. I’ve learned the most from my mistakes and I am more focused on playing good badminton now,” said Momota.
Japan’s badminton chief coach Park Joo Bong also praised Momota’s attitude in games and said this was a good start for Momota to rejuvenate his career.
