Gwangju: Kento Momota secured a spot in the final after defeating China’s Lei Lanxi in straight games at the Korea Masters, marking his first final appearance in 16 months. The former world champion, currently ranked 52nd, demonstrated a remarkable performance by overcoming World No. 57 Lanxi with a score of 21-10, 21-19 in the men’s singles semi-finals on Saturday.
Highlights of Kento Momota vs. Lei Lanxi in the 2023 Korea Masters semi-finals:
Momota’s victory in the semi-finals at Gwangju stands as his best performance in 2023. The last time he reached a BWF World Tour tournament final was on July 3, 2022, at the Malaysia Open, where he faced a defeat against Viktor Axelsen 4-21, 7-21. His last title win in a BWF world tour event was at the 2021 Indonesia Masters, where he defeated Anders Antonsen 21-17, 21-11 in the final.
The 29-year-old Momota was in bad form after being injured in a car accident in Jan 2020. He was eliminated the first round of first three consecutive tournaments at the start of the 2023 season. After reaching the semi-finals of the German Open in March of 2023, he once again experienced the low point and was eliminated in the first round of four consecutive tournaments. Despite these challenges, he displayed a resurgence in confidence at the Korea Masters.
The 29-year-old Japanese player is set to engage in an all-Japanese final against Koki Watanabe, ranked 26th globally, who defeated Wang Tzu Wei from Chinese Taipei in the semi-finals with scores of 21-15, 21-14.
Other notable results from the tournament include an upset in men’s doubles, where Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan defeated reigning world champions Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae, earning a spot in the final against Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin. In mixed doubles, Malaysian pairs Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei and Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai faced defeat against their opponents, Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yu Jung and Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin, respectively.
The women’s finals will feature Kim Ga Eun and Tomoka Miyazaki competing for the singles crown, while Rui Hirokami/Yuna Kato of Japan will face Jeong Na Eun/Kim Hye Jeong in the women’s doubles final.
