is a Japanese
badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...
player. He is known to have a skillful and relentless play style on court. He has won several major badminton tournaments including two
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
titles, two
Asian Championships
An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports)
;Aquatics
* Asian ...
titles, and one
All England title. Momota entered into Guinness Book of World Records for "The most badminton men's singles titles in a season", for his achievements by winning 11 titles in the 2019 season.
Career
Kento Momota started his badminton career from junior level with quite perfect results. Momota's badminton talent has been seen since he was a child. The player born in
Mitoyo,
Kagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 949,358 (as of 2020) and is the smallest prefecture by geographic area at . Kagawa Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the southwest and Tok ...
, on 1 September 1994, started to wrestle with feathers since he was in the second grade of elementary school. He won the first title in a fairly prestigious tournament in Japan, the All Japan Elementary School Championships. Kala's Momota, who was in grade 6, came out as a champion in the men's singles number. After elementary school, Momota continued his studies in Junior High School in
Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...
. In his third year, he again won a similar tournament but at the junior level, the All Japan Junior High School Championships. Graduating from junior high school, Momota studied at Tomioka High School in Fukushima prefecture to hone his skills in badminton.
2011
Momota's presence was increasingly visible as he took part in a bigger race, the
2011 World Junior Championships held in Taipei, Taiwan. Even though Momota did not make it as a champion, it was a valuable lesson when he lost in the semifinal to the Malaysian
Zulfadli Zulkiffli
Zulfadli bin Zulkiffli (born 11 February 1993) is a former Malaysian badminton player. He was the boys' singles gold medalists at the 2011 Asian and World Junior Championships, also at the Commonwealth Youth Games.
In 2018, Zulkiffli was fo ...
who came out as the 2011 World Junior Champion. Towards the end of 2011, Momota began to compete with his seniors in the All Japan Badminton Championship or 2011 Japan National Championship. Momota lost to
Kenichi Tago
is a former badminton player from Japan. He is the son of former badminton player Yoshiko Yonekura. In 2010, he reached the final of the All England Open Badminton Championships. En route to the final he beat three seeded players including Nguye ...
in the final. Even so, his performance was noticed by the Nippon Badminton Association (NBA). Momota began to join the Japanese national team and was expected to become a future star.
2012
Young Momota continued to learn from his defeats. Momota participated in the
2012 Asian Junior Championships held in Gimcheon, South Korea. Learning from his mistakes in 2011, he avenged his defeat in 2011 by becoming 2012 Asia Junior Champion after defeating Malaysian representatives,
Soong Joo Ven
Soong Joo Ven (; born 19 May 1995) is a Malaysian badminton player. He was part of the Malaysian team that won gold in the 2011 BWF World Junior Championships mixed team event.
Career
2011-2017
He won silver medal at the 2012 Asia Junio ...
in two straight games, 21–13, 22–20. In the same year, Momota also won the
World Junior Championships held in Chiba, Japan. Appearing at home, Momota managed to donate gold in public. In the final round, he beat the mainstay of China,
Xue Song
Xue Song () (died 773), formally the Prince of Pingyang (), was a general of the Chinese rebel state Yan, who later submitted to and became a general of Tang Dynasty, from which Yan had rebelled. As was in the case of several other Yan generals ...
through a very tight rubber game match. Momota won 21–17, 19–21, 21–19.
2013
The promising Momota prospect attracted the attention of the
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation (NTT East), the badminton club of NTT East which finally succeeded in asking for his hand to join. Momota officially joined the club that raised its name since April 2013. NTT East is the largest telecommunications company in Japan. By joining the NTT East club, Momota was ready with the consequences of also working at the company. Momota who was then 19 years old had begun to learn to manage time management in such a way. He began to get used to dividing his time to work, practicing on the Japanese national team, and being active in his club.
In 2013, Momota who started the youth competition was sent to the International Challenge competition level. Satisfactory results in the International Challenge tournaments in Europe. Momota managed to emerge as champion in Estonia, Sweden and Austria. Momota was immediately forged in a series of Grand Prix/Gold tournaments and even Superseries (Premiers) throughout 2013.
2014
He won all his matches during Japan's maiden
Thomas Cup
The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships h ...
victory in 2014, playing second men's singles behind
Kenichi Tago
is a former badminton player from Japan. He is the son of former badminton player Yoshiko Yonekura. In 2010, he reached the final of the All England Open Badminton Championships. En route to the final he beat three seeded players including Nguye ...
.
2015
In 2015, he became the first Japanese player to win the
Singapore Open. By winning that title, he became the first Japanese player to successfully capture a Superseries in the men's singles and currently holds the record as the youngest Superseries champion in that category. In the
2015 Sudirman Cup
The 2015 Sudirman Cup was the fourteenth tournament of the Sudirman Cup. It was held in Dongguan, China.
Host city selection
Dongguan is the only city to submit a bid for 2015 Sudirman Cup. Badminton World Federation awarded the event to Dongguan ...
, he repeated his feat in Thomas Cup to help Japan secure a spot as a runner-up. He once again made history in the
2015 BWF World Championships
The 2015 BWF World Championships was a badminton tournament which was held from 10 to 16 August 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Host city selection
Jakarta and Kunshan submitted bids to host the championships. Jakarta was awarded to host the event ...
held in Jakarta. He became the first Japanese player to win a medal in the men's singles of the prestigious tournament. He made it to the semi-finals, before losing to
Chen Long
Chen Long (; ; born 18 January 1989), is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is the 2016 Badminton at the Summer Olympics, Olympic champion, two-time BWF World Championships, World champion, and an Badminton Asia Championships, ...
in straight sets. Rounding off the year, he won the
2015 BWF World Superseries Finals in Dubai. He competed at the
2014 Asian Games
The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...
in Incheon, South Korea, as well as the
2016 Badminton Asia Team Championships
The 2016 Badminton Asia Team Championships were held at the GMC Balayogi Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad, India, on 15–21 February 2016 and were organised by Badminton Asia Confederation.
Host city selection
Hyderabad was selected over Bangkok ...
in Hyderabad, India.
2018
Momota returned to the Japanese national team at the end of 2017. However, due to a lack of his points, he was not qualified to play in the
2018 All England Open
The 2018 All England Open, officially the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2018, was a badminton tournament which took place at Arena Birmingham in England from 14 to 18 March 2018. It had a total purse of $1 million.
Tournament
T ...
, a significant Super 1000 tournament which was held in March. On 28 April, he won the
2018 Asian Championships which was held in Wuhan, after defeating
Chen Long
Chen Long (; ; born 18 January 1989), is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is the 2016 Badminton at the Summer Olympics, Olympic champion, two-time BWF World Championships, World champion, and an Badminton Asia Championships, ...
of China in the finals with a score of 21–17, 21–13.
On 5 August, he won the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
title in Nanjing, China after beating
Shi Yuqi
Shi Yuqi (; Mandarin pronunciation: ; born 28 February 1996) is a Chinese badminton player. Shi Yuqi won his first Superseries title in the 2016 French Open. At the 2017 All England Open, he defeated 6-time champion Lin Dan to reach the final, ...
from China in the finals with a score of 21–11, 21–13. He also won 4 BWF World Tour titles: Indonesia Open, Japan Open, Denmark Open and Fuzhou China Open. Momota became the first Japanese men's singles player to occupy the World number 1 in the BWF World ranking in 27 September.
2019
Momota started the
2019 season by competing at the
Malaysia Masters
The Malaysia Masters, began in 2009, is a badminton tournament at the Super 500 grade, formerly a Grand Prix Gold. The total prize money is now US$350,000, having previously been US$120,000.
BWF categorised Malaysia Masters as one of the seven ...
as the first seed, but his pace was stopped by
Kenta Nishimoto
is a Japanese badminton player. He won a silver medal in the men's singles at the 2017 Summer Universiade and a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games. Nishimoto was part of Japan winning team at the 2012 Asian Junior Championships and at the ...
in the first round. He then reached the final in
Indonesia Masters
The Indonesia Masters is an international badminton tournament in BWF World Tour Super 500 (Super 750 in 2021). Formerly known as the Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold, it was first held in 2010 in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, and change its venue in ...
, but losing to
Anders Antonsen
Anders Antonsen (born 27 April 1997) is a Danish badminton player. He won the gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships in the boys singles event, and at the same year was awarded the European Young Player of the Year. Together with th ...
of Denmark. Momota claimed his first title in 2019, by winning the
German Open a Super 300 tournament. In March 2019, he won the
All England Open beating
Viktor Axelsen
Viktor Axelsen (born 4 January 1994) is a Danish badminton player. He is the 2017 and 2022 World champion and the 2020 Olympic champion. He won the 2010 World Junior Championships, beating South Korea's Kang Ji-wook in the final to become the ...
from Denmark in the finals in 3 sets with a score of 21–11, 15–21, 21–15, becoming the first Japanese man to win the
All England Open title.
In April, Momota won his second
Asian Championships
An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports)
;Aquatics
* Asian ...
title in
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
, China beating home favorite
Shi Yuqi
Shi Yuqi (; Mandarin pronunciation: ; born 28 February 1996) is a Chinese badminton player. Shi Yuqi won his first Superseries title in the 2016 French Open. At the 2017 All England Open, he defeated 6-time champion Lin Dan to reach the final, ...
in three games 12–21, 21–18, 21–8. He also won the
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and
Japan Open titles. In August, he reclaimed his World Champion title, beating
Anders Antonsen
Anders Antonsen (born 27 April 1997) is a Danish badminton player. He won the gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships in the boys singles event, and at the same year was awarded the European Young Player of the Year. Together with th ...
21–9 and 21–3. In doing so, Momota became only the fourth player to win back-to-back titles on a short, all-Chinese list that includes
Yang Yang,
Lin Dan
Lin Dan (born 14 October 1983) is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is a two-time Olympic champion, five-time World champion, as well as a six-time All England champion. Widely regarded as the greatest badminton player of a ...
and
Chen Long
Chen Long (; ; born 18 January 1989), is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is the 2016 Badminton at the Summer Olympics, Olympic champion, two-time BWF World Championships, World champion, and an Badminton Asia Championships, ...
. After that, he won his first title in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Korea Opens, also defend his title at
Denmark Open
The Denmark Open, or formerly known as Danish Open, is an annual badminton tournament held in Denmark and organized by Badminton Denmark.
The Denmark Open was part of the BWF Super Series Premier from 2011 to 2017. BWF categorised it as one of ...
and
Fuzhou China Open.
Momota closed his stellar 2019 year by winning his 11th title, the
World Tour Finals
The ATP Finals is the season-ending championship of the ATP Tour. It is the most significant event in the annual ATP calendar after the four majors as it features the top-eight singles players and top-eight doubles teams based on their results th ...
by beating Indonesia's
Anthony Sinisuka Ginting
Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (; born October 20, 1996) is an Indonesian badminton player. He first rose to prominence when he won the bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games. At the 2020 Olympics, he won bronze in the men's singles event. He became t ...
17–21, 21–17, 21–14. Previously in the gala dinner of the same event, he was awarded as the BWF Best Male Player of the Year. He is also nominated as Best Male Athlete by the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive.
2020
Momota began the 2020 season as the men's singles world number 1. He competed at the
Malaysia Masters
The Malaysia Masters, began in 2009, is a badminton tournament at the Super 500 grade, formerly a Grand Prix Gold. The total prize money is now US$350,000, having previously been US$120,000.
BWF categorised Malaysia Masters as one of the seven ...
as the first seeded, defeated Indian's
Kashyap Parupalli
Parupalli Kashyap (born 8 September 1986) is an Indian badminton player. A former World No.6, he trains at Gopichand Badminton Academy. He was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in 2012.
He created history by reaching the qu ...
and
H. S. Prannoy
Prannoy Haseena Sunil Kumar (born 17 July 1992), also known as H. S. Prannoy, is an Indian badminton player who currently trains at the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. Prannoy originally hails from Thiruvananthapuram and has a ca ...
in the first and second round with two straight games, later in the quarter final beating
Huang Yuxiang
Huang Yuxiang (; born 25 January 1993) is a Chinese badminton player. He won his first international senior title at the 2016 New Zealand Open.
Achievements
Asian Junior Championships
''Boys' singles''
BWF Grand Prix (1 title, 3 runner ...
in the rubber games. In the semi final, he dashed the host nation's hopes by bowing
Lee Zii Jia
Lee Zii Jia (, born 29 March 1998) is a Malaysian badminton player. He was the men's singles gold medalist at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and won his first BWF Super 1000 title at the 2021 All England Open. Lee is the reigning men's singles ...
with the score of 21–10, 21–19. Despite not being at his physical best, Momota pulled off a good show to beat the 2017 World Champion
Viktor Axelsen
Viktor Axelsen (born 4 January 1994) is a Danish badminton player. He is the 2017 and 2022 World champion and the 2020 Olympic champion. He won the 2010 World Junior Championships, beating South Korea's Kang Ji-wook in the final to become the ...
of Denmark 24–22, 21–11 in the final. He extended his head-to-head record over Axelsen to a whopping 14–1. After winning the Malaysia Masters, Momota was involved in a fatal accident, in which the driver was killed, on the way to the airport. He suffered a broken nose as well as injuries to his lips and face.
2021
In January, Momota tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
prior to travelling to Bangkok. As a result, the entire Japanese team withdrew from the three tournaments scheduled to occur that month in Thailand: the
Yonex Thailand Open,
Toyota Thailand Open, and
World Tour Finals
The ATP Finals is the season-ending championship of the ATP Tour. It is the most significant event in the annual ATP calendar after the four majors as it features the top-eight singles players and top-eight doubles teams based on their results th ...
. In March, Momota made a comeback to international competition from injury at the
All England Open. Seeded first, he was beaten by
Lee Zii Jia
Lee Zii Jia (, born 29 March 1998) is a Malaysian badminton player. He was the men's singles gold medalist at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and won his first BWF Super 1000 title at the 2021 All England Open. Lee is the reigning men's singles ...
of Malaysia in the quarter finals in straight games.
During
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
, again playing as top seed, Momota was knocked out in the group stage after losing to the unseeded South Korean
Heo Kwang-hee
Heo Kwang-hee (; born 11 August 1995) is a South Korean badminton player who was educated at the Dankook University. He was selected to join the national team in 2012, and joined the Samsung Electro-Mechanics team in 2014. Heo was the bronze me ...
. In September–October, Momota alongside Japanese team competed at the
Sudirman Cup
The Sudirman Cup is an international badminton mixed team competition contested by member countries of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every two years since the inaugura ...
in Vantaa, Finland. He helps the team reaching the finals, but Japan was defeated by China 1–3. At the
Thomas Cup
The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships h ...
in Aarhus, Denmark, Momota alongside Japanese team won the bronze medal. The team was defeated by China in the semi-finals with a score of 1–3.
In October, he took part in the
Denmark Open
The Denmark Open, or formerly known as Danish Open, is an annual badminton tournament held in Denmark and organized by Badminton Denmark.
The Denmark Open was part of the BWF Super Series Premier from 2011 to 2017. BWF categorised it as one of ...
and finished in 2nd place to
Viktor Axelsen
Viktor Axelsen (born 4 January 1994) is a Danish badminton player. He is the 2017 and 2022 World champion and the 2020 Olympic champion. He won the 2010 World Junior Championships, beating South Korea's Kang Ji-wook in the final to become the ...
in three games, 22–20, 18–21, and 12–21, in a match lasting an hour and thirty-three minutes.
In November, Momota won his first title since his injury, the
Indonesia Masters
The Indonesia Masters is an international badminton tournament in BWF World Tour Super 500 (Super 750 in 2021). Formerly known as the Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold, it was first held in 2010 in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, and change its venue in ...
, defeating
Anders Antonsen
Anders Antonsen (born 27 April 1997) is a Danish badminton player. He won the gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships in the boys singles event, and at the same year was awarded the European Young Player of the Year. Together with th ...
in straight games (21–17, 21–11) in a seemingly one-sided final.
2022
Momota had a rough start to the 2022 season. Post injury recovery, besides slipping to number 2 on the world rankings, he has not performed up to his pre-injury level. In the opening season, he participated in three tournaments, the
All England Open,
German Open and the
2022 Badminton Asia Championships
The 2022 Badminton Asia Championships was a badminton tournament held at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex, Muntinlupa in the Philippines from 26 April to 1 May 2022. The prior tournament was held in 2019, with no tournament held for the ensuing two ...
. In the All England Open, he was knocked out in the Quarter-finals by Malaysian
Lee Zii Jia
Lee Zii Jia (, born 29 March 1998) is a Malaysian badminton player. He was the men's singles gold medalist at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and won his first BWF Super 1000 title at the 2021 All England Open. Lee is the reigning men's singles ...
with score 7–21, 21–13, 11–21. In the German Open, he was knocked out in the first round by his Japanese compatriot
Kenta Nishimoto
is a Japanese badminton player. He won a silver medal in the men's singles at the 2017 Summer Universiade and a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games. Nishimoto was part of Japan winning team at the 2012 Asian Junior Championships and at the ...
with a score of 21–23, 9–21 in 2 straight sets. At the Badminton Asia Championships, he was defeated in 3 games in the first round by Indonesian
Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo
Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo (born 15 June 1998) is an Indonesian professional badminton player. He was a World junior silver medalist in 2016 and Asian Championships bronze medalist in 2022. Dwi Wardoyo also part of Indonesia winning team at the 2020 ...
21–17, 17–21, 7–21.
In the first round of the
Thailand Open, he was eliminated in a tame defeat by
Zhao Junpeng
Zhao Junpeng (, born 2 February 1996) is a Chinese badminton player. In 2016 and 2017, he became the runner-up at the China International (badminton), China International Challenge tournament in the men's singles event. He won his first senior i ...
, 8–21, 11–21 in 2 straight games.
At the first round of the
Indonesia Open, he was knocked out in the first round by the 13th-ranked
Rasmus Gemke
Rasmus Gemke (born 11 January 1997) is a Danish badminton player. He was awarded the 2012 Badminton Denmark Comet of the Year. He was part of the Danish national U-19 team to win bronze at the 2015 European Junior Badminton Championships in Lubin ...
from Denmark, 19–21, 21–19, 14–21. After the match, Momota stated that he was "disappointed" because he made so many mistakes and that he "would do much more practice to get a better result for the next tournament".
At the
Malaysia Open, Momota made it through to his first final since winning the
2021 Indonesia Masters Super 750 event in November. He had received 2 walkovers, one against
Kantaphon Wangcharoen
Kantaphon Wangcharoen ( th, กันตภณ หวังเจริญ; born 18 September 1998) is a Thai badminton player. At the young age, Wangcharoen became the runner-up in the senior tournament 2014 Singapore International in the men's ...
and the other being a walkover due to his opponent,
Shesar Hiren Rhustavito
Shesar Hiren Rhustavito (born 3 March 1994) is an Indonesian badminton player who affiliate with Djarum club. He won four consecutives Indonesia International tournament, two times at the USM International in Semarang, and two times at the Victo ...
retiring mid match due to injury. In the final, Momota was trashed by Olympic champion
Viktor Axelsen
Viktor Axelsen (born 4 January 1994) is a Danish badminton player. He is the 2017 and 2022 World champion and the 2020 Olympic champion. He won the 2010 World Junior Championships, beating South Korea's Kang Ji-wook in the final to become the ...
, losing 4–21, 7–21 in just 34 minutes. After the match, Momota told reporters that Axelsen's "level" was higher than he expected, and that despite the loss, he was "very happy to be back here after all the difficult times" he had been through, adding that he "might be getting closer to the answer" that he was looking for.
In the following week, Momota lost in the round of 16 at the
Malaysia Masters
The Malaysia Masters, began in 2009, is a badminton tournament at the Super 500 grade, formerly a Grand Prix Gold. The total prize money is now US$350,000, having previously been US$120,000.
BWF categorised Malaysia Masters as one of the seven ...
to compatriot
Kanta Tsuneyama
is a Japanese badminton player.
Achievements
Youth Olympic Games
''Mixed doubles''
Asia Junior Championships
''Boys' singles''
''Boys' doubles''
BWF World Tour (3 titles)
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 ...
, losing 16–21, 15–21 in 50 minutes.
In late August, playing in his home country, Momota took part in the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
as the 2nd seed. He was upset by the unseeded
Prannoy H. S.
Prannoy Haseena Sunil Kumar (born 17 July 1992), also known as H. S. Prannoy, is an Indian badminton player who currently trains at the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. Prannoy originally hails from Thiruvananthapuram and has a ca ...
in the round of 32, losing 17–21, 16–21 in straight games.
Achievements
BWF World Championships
''Men's singles''
Asian Championships
''Men's singles''
BWF World Junior Championships
''Boys' singles''
Asian Junior Championships
''Boys' singles''
BWF World Tour (15 titles, 6 runners-up)
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the
Badminton World Federation
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...
(BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.
''Men's singles''
BWF Superseries (4 titles)
The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the
Badminton World Federation
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...
(BWF). BWF Superseries levels were
Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.
''Men's singles''
:
BWF Superseries Finals The BWF Super Series Finals (named as BWF Super Series Masters Finals until 2009) was an annual badminton tournament held at the end of the year where the players with the most points from that calendar year's twelve events of the BWF Super Series c ...
tournament
:
BWF Superseries Premier tournament
:
BWF Superseries
The BWF Super Series was a series of Grade 2 badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). It was launched on December 14, 2006 and implemented in 2007.
Since 2011, the Super Series includes two levels of tournament, ...
tournament
BWF Grand Prix (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the
Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the
Badminton World Federation
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...
(BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.
''Men's singles''
:
BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
:
BWF Grand Prix tournament
BWF International Challenge/Series (7 titles)
''Men's singles''
:
BWF International Challenge
The BWF International Challenge is a grade 3 and level 1 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Series (level 2) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007.
...
tournament
:
BWF International Series
The BWF International Series is a grade 3 and level 2 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Challenge (level 1) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...
tournament
Gambling scandal
On 7 April 2016, Momota admitted visiting an illegal casino in Tokyo after casino staff reported him gambling there "frequently". In a board meeting, it was revealed that he gambled away 0.5 million yen during 6 visits to the casino with his teammate,
Kenichi Tago
is a former badminton player from Japan. He is the son of former badminton player Yoshiko Yonekura. In 2010, he reached the final of the All England Open Badminton Championships. En route to the final he beat three seeded players including Nguye ...
, who spent 10 million yen after 60 visits to various casinos. The Nippon Badminton Association secretary general
Kinji Zeniya
is a retired male badminton player of Japan.
Career
He won seven Japanese national men's singles titles from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He played at the Inter-Zone Ties of 1979 Thomas Cup and 1982 Thomas Cup.
He is a senior official of th ...
said it would “probably be impossible” for Momota to participate in the
Rio 2016 Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
, with frequent gambling being punishable by law with a prison sentence of up to 3 years. He was banned from playing until late 2017 for this.
Career overview
Performance timeline
National team
* ''Junior level''
* ''Senior level''
Individual competitions
Junior level
* ''Boys' singles''
* ''Boys' doubles''
* ''Mixed doubles''
Senior level
Record against selected opponents
Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of
5 November 2022.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Momota, Kento
1994 births
Living people
People from Mitoyo, Kagawa
Sportspeople from Kagawa Prefecture
Japanese male badminton players
Badminton players at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Olympic badminton players of Japan
Badminton players at the 2014 Asian Games
Badminton players at the 2018 Asian Games
Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan
Asian Games medalists in badminton
Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games
World No. 1 badminton players
BWF Best Male Player of the Year