Tai Tzu-Ying and Kento Momota are currently dominating the Badminton rankings and their records make for some splendid reading.
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It is a well-known fact that Asian players dominate most of the racquet sports in the world barring Tennis. Table Tennis and Badminton are some of the sports that are dominated by Asians. Table Tennis has total domination of the Chinese that is unprecedented. When it comes to badminton, the domination by Asians goes up a different notch. For some years, Carolina Marin dominated Badminton. Viktor Axelsen of Denmark was also making giant strides.
However, in the last couple of years, the domination is firmly in the hands of the Asian contingent. In the women’s section, the likes of PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal hold the Indian flag high. The likes of Ratchanok Intanon, Akane Yamaguchi, Chen Yufei and Nozomi Okuhara are all great players with massive accomplishments. But, no one has dominated the Badminton circuit from Asia like these two individuals.
Tai Tzu-Ying of Chinese Taipei and Kento Momota are currently the world number one ranked players. Both players have gone on to carve their own legacies. Momota has created a record for most title wins in a season. Tai Tzu-Ying, on the other hand, has seen stratospheric heights.
The journeys traversed by both of these players all date back to the years 2018 and 2019. It was a year that saw both players dominate the Tennis world unlike anyone. Momota entered into Guinness Book of World Records for “The most badminton men’s singles titles in a season”. He won 11 titles in the 2019 season.
In 2018, Tai Tzu Ying became the second player to break 100,000 points after Li Xuerui. Tai Tzu Ting also broke the record of the longest winning streak with 31 consecutive matches won. The streak started at the Indonesia Masters and ended in the BWF World Championships. 2018 became a golden year for Tai Tzu Ying. She won the Asian Games gold medal by beating PV Sindhu in straight games.
However, the only thing missing in the resume of these two great athletes is an Olympic medal. Carolina Marin’s domination of badminton is credible only because she has secured the Olympic gold in Rio in 2016. Marin has also won three World Championships.
Tai Tzu Ying and Kento Momota have all won plenty of BWF World Series title. But, if they win the gold in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, then their domination will have massive credibility.
Momota has had a tough couple of years. The Japanese suffered an accident and then tested positive for coronavirus. Tai Tzu Ying has a positive record against many opponents, including Sindhu, Saina and Marin. Momota has a positive head-to-head record against all his major rivals, including 14-1 against Axelsen.
Tokyo Olympics 2021 will be the final Test for these two greats.
