LZJ is on the rise while Momota is trending in the wrong direction. I think that’s a fair statement. It’s hard to stop someone on the rise… Maybe Momota needs to play Ginting
His anticipation has decreased drastically. I still remember his 2019's performance, he seems to be able to walk to get shuttle effortlessly because he always know where the shuttle was going. Hence that's why his stamina is easily dropping now, because he lacks in anticipation which results in him being out of his rhythm and breath.
Well, only him and NBA know his condition. Given the severity of that accident, his career could have ended that day. Even if he cannot recapture his form, he has given his fans 2 excellent years of badminton, where he reigned supreme, winning 2 WC back to back. Now we can only give our blessing to him, hoping he get back to his best.
CTC is too passive. If I was on the bench as his coach I would have told him to attack like crazy. And 100% he would have beaten Momota. Only 2-3 times he used his extreme crosscourt smashes and 100% of the times Momota didn't get it. @Hbmao I agree with what YOU said but not the comment you are defending.
I'm gonna say it will be a 3 set affair of which two will be something along the lines of 21-6, 21-9 or some single-digit embarrassment to each other. Then the final set will be a closely contested one. That's just my feel.
Now you just sound like a tiger mom who just can’t be satisfied no matter how well the kids do. Give the man some slacks he’s trying his best.
What are you talking about? We all know how passive and self destructing CTC is! So this match wasn't a good read. And Momota still made a lot of mistakes. Cut him some slack? Dude it has been a very long time. The problem isn't him 100% - it involves the coaching as well. Today's match will not be a good read either! Because it is Ginting and he hasn't been great either since a long time! I am just not reading his performance based on yesterday's and today's match. I'm looking forward to see him play against Axelsen instead. Axelsen will destroy him and I hope at the end of the match he'll either invite him to training in Dubai (out of his respect for a former rival) or tell him something to make him realise how pathetic his performances have been and to get a fooking grip. That's my thoughts. Call me all kind of titles if you want. Mother tiger or toxic. Anything I say has to be something. If it is positive - I am biased and if it is negative - I am toxic or whatever.
Easy to say when I have an anime Avatar. Come on. Do better if you are going to take the personal attack route.
See very simple - Smash and Momota will lose automatically. CTC should have done that. Wonder if Ginting will realise it though
Keep smashing Ginting - hopefully Momota remembers his days. Yes call me 'Watch too many anime*, *Toxic* and * Tiger Mom*
So I was surprised to see Momota beat CTC yesterday and that Momota beat CTC in sets. However, Momota kind of fell back to earth where I expected him to fall, against Ginting today. And to be frank, I don't think Ginting is in his best form either, losing the first 3 matches in the Thomas Cup on behalf of Indonesia. Ginting's style has always troubled Momota, despite Momota's winning record against Ginting at Momota's peak in 2018/2019. Despite Momota being at his peak in 2018/2019, it was Ginting that knocked Momota out of the Asian Games when Momota was #1 in the world and looked unbeatable. Ginting made a remark against Momota when he beat Momota in the Asian Games, saying something like, Momota didn't seem that hard (I'm paraphrasing Ginting, he didn't say that exactly, but it was a very interesting remark that Ginting said against the #1 player in the world at the time). The takeaway I got from Ginting's remark is that Ginting's was implying Momota's style doesn't trouble him that much. This is the complete opposite of Viktor's style against Momota. Momota loves Viktor's style and Momota would routinely each Viktor's lunch. The overall record of Viktor vs Momota speaks for itself. I think in 2018/2019, despite Ginting's style troubling Momota, and the fact that many matches between Ginting and Momota were close, Momota was just a faster, more consistent player, and more fit back in 2018/2019. Momota's speed, consistency, and fitness, game him an edge against Ginting in 2018/2019, even though Ginting's style of play troubles Momota. Fast forward to today's match at the Thomas Cup, I don't think Momota has the same speed, consistency, and fitness that he had in 2018/2019. In fact, Momota looked gassed and tired by the 3rd set against Ginting. Some mistakes that Momota made in the 3rd set against Ginting, I think Momota made those mistakes because he was just tired. So Ginting's natural style against Momota can make the difference if Momota is not at his best. Anyways, I see Momota is still ranked #2 right now, according to the BWF rankings: https://bwfbadminton.com/rankings/. However, I would say, based on how I have seen Momota perform at the All England and now at this Thomas Cup, Momota looks more like a top 7 player in the world, rather than a top 2 player in the world. We will see if Momota can pick up his performance in future tournaments, but if he cannot pick up his performance, I expect his ranking to slide. Japan can still qualify for the finals and Momota can even win his match in the finals, if Japan makes it there. But I don't think that will change my opinion that Momota looks like a top 7 player in the world, rather than a top 2 player in the world, based on his results at the moment. Edit: Even if I peg Momota as a top 7 player in the world right now, against Viktor Axelsen who is #1 in the world, I don't favor Viktor either, if it's a Momota vs Viktor match. Momota is the kryptonite to Viktor's style. So despite Momota not up to his 2018/2019 level, I think Momota still stands a chance against Viktor because he just counters Viktor's style of play.
Top 7?? He isn't top 20! People just need to realise that he cannot defend against smashes. As soon as a player will spam smashes on him he will be done for.
Well, I wouldn't want to offend a lot of the people in this thread by saying Momota is a top 20 player only. Momota still beat players like CTC and CTC is ranked #4 in the world: https://bwfbadminton.com/rankings/ But yeah, I agree with your sentiment that Momota is not nearly as good as he was back in 2018/2019. I think top 7 is a fair assessment of Momota at this moment, IMO.