How was a world junior champ too and he got good height and very effective backhands.For sure he is no fluke against a damaged Momota. But he is definitely top 10 quality.
How was a world junior champ too and he got good height and very effective backhands.For sure he is no fluke against a damaged Momota. But he is definitely top 10 quality.
I think that it was already a stamina game. 'How' looked really tired in the second set and going for full-power smashes did not helped too (you could hear the 'gasps' all the time when he smashes, much like a double player going all-in). The issues was , that Momota/How were able to play the net and the neutral game safely, but How was able to pull off this sudden full-power smashes several time and each time he got one point advantage.Alternatively, he could have made this a stamina match. He would need two things for this to happen:
I think that it was already a stamina game. 'How' looked really tired in the second set and going for full-power smashes did not helped too (you could hear the 'gasps' all the time when he smashes, much like a double player going all-in). The issues was , that Momota/How were able to play the net and the neutral game safely, but How was able to pull off this sudden full-power smashes several time and each time he got one point advantage.
Momota kind of played vs his mirror image with an better attack.
I noticed Momota's reaction to blocking smashes and seeing which side the smash is going is significantly delayed. Sometimes it looks like he couldn't even see it until it passed him and he just stands there frozen. Is there a possibility that his eyesight was never recovered completely? If that were the case, I can understand if they kept quiet about it as it'd expose a big weakness.
This is EXACTLY what I said after his OG match and I still fully agree.
It's not like his movement is slow.
It's the reaction time which is much longer now compared to 2019.
It really feels like he sees the shuttle much later.
I noticed this on many occasions during today's match also.
No argument about this, Momota 2019 is no longer available. I'm unsure of why he is struggling so much, is it just lacking practise or is it a lacking confidence. Most likely both.This kind of game was no where near the Momota stamina game of 2019.
I think he is just not used to hard smashes anymore. There really isn't anyone in team Japan with a powerful smash that momota can practice defence against. I believe that as he starts getting back in tournament play and faces opponents with powerful smashes his defence will gradually return to him
Look at 31:20, how long it took for him to realize the shot was coming down his right side.
This has to be the case given the chicken is always seen wrapped in the JPN flag and a few posts above there is eveidence that the chicken has its own seat plus all you can eat cookies and drinksMaybe the chicken is a symbol for Bird Japan?
I am baffled by what he said. He wants to force an attack from the opponent.As mentioned by @galaxyduo, no-one, except possibly Momota himself, knows whether the accident has left a residual disability; it is pure speculation. I personally think that his eyesight is fine. After all, the double vision problem he faced after the accident, only affected his eyesight when he looked upwards; i.e., when responding to clears. Horizontal and downward shots did not trouble him. And I do not believe that this will have changed after the operation. However, there are obvious issues with his powers of anticipation. Whilst Momota used to be known for reading his opponent's game, currently, he is being taken by surprise. He also looks a little less sprightly than was formerly the case.
Here's my liberal translation of Momota's post-match comments, as carried by Badminton Spirit.
My opponent was in control throughout the match, and I had no leeway. I do not view him as a particularly difficult opponent to play against; the reason for the loss was my inability to withstand his attacks.
I feel that I need to raise the accuracy of my game to a level where, rather than passively "inviting an attack", I am able to take the initiative and "force an attack" from my opponent.
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