I've now seen the match and it was of genuinely high level. Momota looked really good through large parts of the match and I think we can now safely say that he will return to his best/improve, and that his injury did not have the same impact on him as SYQ's. I'm still puzzled how CTC always manages to up his game against KM and is such a mediocre player otherwise.
One thing I notice is that CTC puts a lot of height on almost all of his net shots so it lands closer to the net which LCW used to great effect against Momota in that Malaysia Open final and Ginting uses it a lot too. Another thing is that both of their plays are rather defensive with a lot of clears/lifts so rallies can really extend before one of them makes a decisive shot to finish the rally. I also noticed for this particular match that Momota didn't follow up much on shots I would've expected him too which makes sense CTC does push it to the back court pretty often. I must say that CTC has become very deceptive as of late and it probably comes from training a lot with TTY.
As a big fan of Momota, I am happy to see Momota getting back his confidence. His style of play requires not just physical stamina but also a lot of mental stamina , something he seems to naturally have in abundance of ...before the life threatening accident. To keep focus on making high quality shots , high quality speed control, ... to move the opponent until opponent gets out of balance and make unforced errors... requires a great mental stamina. When this mental stamina looses momentum in the middle of a game, ... it takes time to tune it up again. With Confidence and practice, I believe Momota can build back his mental stamina again. Fears, un rsolved bad memories or lack of physical stamina can delay the process. The important thing is , loose or win, Momota should play as many matches as he can.
But today will be mainly a mental match. While his form isn't 100% yet, it is already pretty good. But his mental is still 25%. Having beaten LZJ once and to have to do it again might add pressure. Not to mention LZJ will be playing like a madman (on top of being arrogant and stupid celebrations).
I think CTC really enjoys it when he can "feel" himself into long rallies. That's why he does well against Momota, as KM usually gives him time to get comfortable, play these drops to the net you mentioned, play deceptions, and the also counter with solid smashing. KM should play much more attacking against CTC in general and take his strenghts away.
At the end of the first game, 1 point lost due to the net and 1 point lost due to Momota's error. It's unlucky. And in the match, I see Momota want to play rallies more than smashing the shuttlecock. Momota has opportunities but he don't smash to take point. ^-^ Maybe he wants to play with Lee Zii Jia like a practice match and seek back his feelings
That would be the ideal scenario! And tomorrow we see a magnificent Momota. But I was right on the money with how the match would turn out today lol. And tomorrow, Momota should use this opportunity to resurge immediately. You don't get this often. Losing and then bouncing back with vengence. I hope he can take all his frustrations on SYQ tmr. I am a fan of SYQ but he'll be fine
I don't be optimistic. I feel that Momota's eyesight was not well like before that accident. I hope I was wrong
They should send Nishimoto out when facing with Taipei. in the final, I'm not sure, I haven't watched any match from Nishimoto in this tournament.
Fatigue factored into Momota's SF match against LZJ yesterday. According to his comment published in Badminton Spirit (https://www.badspi.jp/202110031200/), Momota states that after a tough fight against CTC, he was unable to raise the pace of his game. Due to a dearth of matches over the last year, stamina could be an issue, ... as pointed out previously by Zeniya Kinji.
That was very visible anyway. This SC could be a carbon copy of 2019, you know? Momota tired from having played an uneccessary amount of matches (shouldn't have played against CTC), Japan maybe 0-2 down after AY loses to CYF, everybody expects Kento to win, but he's already tired anyway and has had less rest than SYQ again. He gives his best, maybe wins the first game, but then has nothing left...
There are really only three players in Japan with a winner's attitude: KM, YW, and NO. Everyone else always (!) get's ultra nervous when the stakes get high and folds. But unlike the ladies, who are folding at a genuinely high level, because a lot of the are proper world class, the dudes (minus KM, YW) fold at a much lower level. I'd be completely baffled if Hugo and the smurf come out on top here.
Oh dear, ... a distinct possibility. But Yamaguchi has a chance of winning her match. I hope she does; she, too, could do with a boost to her confidence.
After some promising moments at this tournament, eMomota’s head quickly comes unscrewed back to his pre-Olympic state… Guess he hasn’t spent enough time in the hole to trigger a turnaround. Hopefully the shame of letting his team down when they REALLY needed him will knock some sense into him and motivate him to get himself together. He’s basically out of excuses at this point…
Momota had significantly less resting time than SYQ going into the match and it was also a mistake to field Momota against MAS and TPE which resulted in fatigue
Nah, SYQ looked more tired of the two. Momota’s problem is he can’t take the initiative from opponents and upset their offensive momentum. He’s either got to hope his consistency in his rallying play comes back to him, or he’s got to develop his attack, to get back to the top.
