Seruously? Auch if his back got hurt then thats really sad to hear. I got a hernia as well from doing some wierd lower back stretches and I litterally have not played for half a year now. Lunges hurt extremely much for example, moving hurts, sitting in the car hurt and it was not fun in general. In my case, the hernia starting to get better recently so if im lucky, it looks like ill be able to at least play badminton again gently towards the summer. Half of all hernias dont require surgery and get better on their own as the body reabsorbs the herniated disc. I wonder how it looks like for Kento but if it requires surgery then disc replacement surgery is a modern approach has had good comments on youtube at least. Better than spinal fusion… If anyone finds out more about Kentos back, please post as this clears up his sutuation a big deal.
Men Single isn't even worth watching anymore and by extension Badminton isn't even worth watching anymore. Until I find a player as interesting as Momota or LCW or LD.
Many of the names are there from four years ago. Covid meant that quite a few who would have been entering their prime now are not around.
Today (April 18, 2024), Momota formally announced his retirement from the national team. The Thomas Cup will be his final international tournament.
Im waiting for the in depth interview. He had an amazing run for the past few years. It was amazing to watch him play.
Its a little surprising but not really as he was regaining his form the last time we saw him and then he disappeared again skipping the nxt few tournaments. Was wondering why ge wasn’t trying to get his ranking back up so retirement was probably why.
Basically, that is what it comes down to. He continued to suffer from eyesight problems, and his body felt out of synch. Apparently, the only reason he pressed on this far was because of the support of those around him. Momota, btw, will continue to be active on the domestic stage for a little longer. He plans to participate in the S/J League and other tournaments.
My son just let me know.. sad news indeed. Hoping he does well in the Thomas Cup and, although I would love to see him continue playing, wishing him the very best in whatever he does next.
Maybe one day there will be a movie or feature film / documentary about his career similar to what there is for Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan. Momota's career is full of ups and downs. It's a great story that can be told one day and leave viewers with a sense of what could have been.
I remember some of his matches forever.. His match against Prannoy, where Japanese Audience (fans)clapped in rhythmic manner to encourage him... [Stopped the journey to watch the match with family, while crossing that place.. i think 1st time Pranny won agaisnt KM] His exploitation of stadium drift, particularly against Srikanth.. After Prime(after 2017) srikanth lost to KM many times! He is one of the players who demolished Srikanth's form/game! (infact many including VA as acknowledged by him in "X"). His deceptive return at 19-19 at match point against Kashyap(or Srikanth).. Just watched 2019 Denmark Open Final against Chen Long.. Chen's "Node of approval" after last point! Who is next lefty going to dominate? Christo Popov or Lin Chun-Yi(Taiwan) or WHY?. Christo! Same time wish India's lefty Arch-rivals Sankar and Pranav Rao Kandham that level! We need one lefty at Top 4 soon! ... to watch some good elegant MS matches.
This post is my respect and everything for Kento Momota. Kento, first of all I became numb and felt bad when I heard your news of retirement. The world will not forget the aura, talent and dominance you showed. Most importantly the world will never forget when you were “ostracised” following gambling scandal, received backlash and petty comments and nitpicking from people, you came back defying all the odds and became a champion which no one expected you to be in 2018,19. It takes a hell lot of guts and fighting against yourself and others who are constantly trying to put you down and shame you. You have been a symbol of hope and positivity for people that one mistake doesn’t define you and your future. As Professor Dumbledore says “Light will always be there after Darkness if one remembers to switch it on”, you are the epitome of it. You had a magnificent comeback in 2018 and became WC in 2018 and 2019. Bamboozled everyone. You earned the respect of more and more people with each tournament passing by. People started to have more expectations from you regarding Tokyo and comparisons started to come to the floor with LD, CL. You had life threatening accident in 2020 (Feb or March), millions of fans got shocked and were relieved that you were safe. I had terrific grief over imagining you watching driver die and what nots. Trauma hits the person. After that accident, you still had the guts and determination to pull it through and give it a try whatever the results be. With each tournament after that accident, I knew that you’re battling your demons. You had the choice to not play. But you did because I suspect societal things were a major reason, I understand if that’s the case. I never tried to expect anything from you after that accident. My major concern was always your health and not your performance on court. You have earned my love and respect always. Even more so after this post accident tour events you participated on. I know this post will never reach you. But I just wanted to pen down my feelings after hearing the news of your retirement. You’ll forever be my LEGEND and surely be the reason for smiles of so many fans. I wish you all the best for your future life, you’ve done enough. Just one thing- don’t be hard on yourself and try to focus on your health - physical and mental both. Good luck champ.
Is he retiring from professional badminton altogether or just from the national team? Sent from my CPH2447 using Tapatalk
Sad to see him retire so early but can’t blame him as he usually exits early in major tournaments and often can’t even qualify for top tournaments, for a player who totally dominated MS and set the record most titles! I had mentioned before that he’s finished after the fatal car accident, where he sustained serious eye injury and had operation on it. He never recovered from that accident to his pre-accident brilliance and faded away. The worst was his home Olympic game where he lost in the early stages to a player who had never beaten him! That must’ve been very painful! He should sue the Malaysian authorities for ruining his career for the car accident accident and his subsequent demise from the game, his eyes are not the same as before and his confidence suffered as well.
He's only retiring from international competition. He will still play for his company NTT in domestic competition. Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk
