Tokyo 2020: World No 1 shuttler Kento Momota knocked out in group phase

Kento Momota's dream of winning an Olympic gold came crashing down after he was defeated by unseeded South Korean Heo Kwang-hee.

Kento Momota of Japan reacts after losing to South Korea's Kwanghee Heo; Credit: Twitter@bwfmedia
By Karthik Raman | Jul 28, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Japan’s badminton world number one Kento Momota suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of unseeded South Korean Heo Kwang-hee at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday. Heo Kwang-hee, 25-year-old world No 38, had won the match 21-15, 21-19 in the group phase. It is a big blow to their country as Momota was a strong gold medal contender in their home Olympics. For a second straight day, the nation suffered two massive upsets after tennis superstar Naomi Osaka exited the tournament a day earlier in women’s singles.

Kento Momota, who won a record 11 titles in 2019, lost just six of the 73 matches he played that year. Considered a gold medal favourite, Momota’s bid for the coveted gold on home soil ended quickly, with Kwang-hee beating him in just 52 minutes. The Japanese player struggled to find his range early in the game as he started making uncharacteristic mistakes. Momota did come close in the second game but sealed his own fate when he hit the net to end the match.

Momota had won his first match of Group A in straight games. He defeated Timothy Lam 21-12, 21-19, but was unable to sustain that momentum in his next match, bowing out of the Olympics in the men’s singles event much earlier than he would have preferred. Earlier, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen – another gold medal favourite – defeated Finland’s Kalle Koljonen 21-9, 21-13 with little trouble.

Chou Tien-Chen, Tai Tzu Ying win

Meanwhile, World No. 3 Chou Tien-Chen was engaged in a closely fought battle for over an hour with Canada’s Brian Yang, who ranks 44th. The match ended 21-18, 16-21, 22-20 in favour of Chou. Later, Chou’s teammate Tai Tzu Ying had a comfortable day in women’s singles, easing past France’s Qi Xuefei in their 25-minute encounter. Tai defeated Qi 21-10, 21-13 but earlier had a difficult start to the Tokyo Games.

However, the comfortable manner in which she won the last game, will give her confidence to go deep in the tournament. “This is the first time I’m getting to the top eight at the Olympics,” Tai said after the match. “Now the most important thing is to prepare.”

Elsewhere, Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu advanced to the pre-quarterfinals in women’s singles event, beating Hong Kong’s NY Cheung in a Group J match on Wednesday. The 26-year-old Indian defeated the World No. 34 Cheung 21-9 21-16 in a 35-minute match to top the group. This was Sindhu’s sixth win over Cheung in as many meetings.

In the first game, Sindhu dominated her opponent to convincingly win it 21-9. Cheung was unable to match the Indian shuttler’s quick and endless reach. Cheung, however, came back strongly in the second game and made a match out of it. Sindhu then refocused and got back her to usual best in the closing stages of the second game to win it 21-16. Sindhu, touted as one of the main medal contenders for India at the Tokyo Olympics, is on the right path to fulfil that target.

However, her fellow Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth has been knocked out of the men’s singles event. Sai Praneeth was defeated by Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands in a Group D match, by a 14-21, 14-21 scoreline.