Tokyo: World No. 1 men’s singles player, Kento Momota entered the Tokyo Olympics as the star of Japan and perhaps the Games themselves. He convinced himself he was prepared for the pressure and was determined to win gold.
When Momota took the court to face World No 38 Heo Kwang-hee of Korea in their last Group A match on Wednesday night, something seemed to fall off for the Japanese star as Momota lost to Heo in straight-set 15-21, 19-21 in a 52-minute battle. This wasn’t the ending that the badminton superstar nor his fans across Japan and worldwide had expected for the Tokyo Olympics. Momota was playing indecisively as he chose to push a lot of high shots either to the baseline of his opponent or drop them at the net instead of killing them instantly as he used to. On the other hand, Heo was tirelessly launching powerful and successful cross-court smashes which caught Momota off guard many times.
It’s undoubtedly a heartbreaking disappointment for Momota who had gone through a lot in the last 5 years. He was suspended from playing in the Rio Olympics due to gambling in illegal casinos in Japan. He survived a fatal car accident in January of 2020 and had to go through surgery to repair his broken right eye socket as a result of the car accident. Momota posted a message on his social media Wednesday to thanks the support from badminton fans around the world with the message below:
“The result was really disappointing.
However, I am only grateful that I can compete on the badminton court. Thanks to everyone who supported me even during the difficult times.
It’s really a valuable experience in my life to be able to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
Thank you very much for your support.” (translated by BadmintonPlanet.com)
結果は本当に悔しい形になってしまいました。
ただ今まで本当に辛い時も支えてくれた方々や、応援してくれている皆さんのおかげで憧れの舞台に立つことができたことに感謝しかないです。
この東京五輪という舞台で人生において貴重な経験をすることができました。
応援本当にありがとうございました。— 桃田賢斗 (@momota_kento) July 28, 2021
Another big upset in men’s singles on Wednesday was when World No. 9 Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong went down to World No. 59 Kevin Cordon of Guatemala, losing 20-22, 13-21.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s World No. 8 Lee Zii Jia dismissed World No. 36 Brice Leverdez of France 21-17, 21-5 on Wednesday, setting up an intriguing last 16 clash against the 2016 Rio Olympic gold medalist, Chen Long of China.
Despite not competed in any international tournaments for a year and a half, Chen looked extremely sharp to outlast Pablo Abian of Spain 21-11, 21-10.
Heo Kwang-hee is waiting in the quarter-final for the winner between Kevin Cordón and Mark Caljouw while Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan had a bye in the last 16 and will play either Lee Zii Jia or Chen Long in the quarter-finals.
Below is the men’s singles last 16 draw for the Tokyo Olympics:
Top Half:
Kevin Cordón (GUA) vs. Mark Caljouw (NED)
Viktor Axelsen (DEN) vs. Wang Tzu-wei (TPE)
Jonatan Christie (INA) vs. Shi Yuqi (CHN)
Bottom Half:
Kanta Tsuneyama (JPN) vs. Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (INA)
Toby Penty (GBR) vs. Anders Antonsen (DEN)
Lee Zii Jia (MAS) vs. Chen Long (CHN)
