Kento Momota

 ( 1994 Births ) 

born 1 September 1994 is a former Japanese badminton player. He has won several major badminton tournaments including becoming a two time World Champion, becoming a two time Asian Champion, and winning one All England title. Momota received a Guinness World Records certificate for "The most badminton men's singles titles in a season", for winning 11 titles in the 2019 season.

Known for his unpredictable and explosive playing style, he became the first ever Japanese men's singles player to achieve a BWF ranking of No.1 in 2018, holding this distinction for 121 weeks and subsequently being awarded the BWF's best male player of the year award. He is considered to be one of the greats of men's singles badminton.

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Early life and career Kento Momota was born on 1 September 1994, in Mino, Kagawa, Japan, to Nobuhiro and Michiyo Momota. His parents named him "Kento" after Clark Kent, the alter ego of the American comic book hero Superman, hoping he would become the strongest person in the world. He began playing badminton at the age of seven, influenced by his older sister, Meiko. Although his parents were not experienced in the sport, his father, Nobuhiro, studied badminton and built a homemade practice court to support his son's development.

In 2007, Momota won the All Japan Elementary School Badminton Championship. This national victory prompted him to seek more advanced training, leading to a move to Fukushima Prefecture to attend Tomioka Daiichi Junior High School, an institution known for its strong badminton program. While there, he continued to excel, winning the National Junior High School Badminton Tournament in August 2009. Momota also became the first junior high student to reach the semifinals of the All Japan Junior Championships, a tournament that included high school players.

After junior high, Momota enrolled at Tomioka High School, where he trained under coaches including Indonesian Imam Tohari. In 2012, he won gold medals at both the Asian and World Junior Championships, becoming the first Japanese male player to win the world junior title. Upon graduating from high school, Momota had achieved a world ranking of No. 50. He turned professional in 2013 by joining the NTT East badminton team.

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Career

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2011 Momota competed in both junior and senior international tournaments in 2011. At the junior level, he won bronze medals at the World Junior Championships held in Taipei, Taiwan and the Asian Junior Championships held in Lucknow, India. He then transitioned to the senior circuit by entering higher-tier BWF tournaments. He made his Super Series debut at the Japan Open, and competed in the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold and the Canada Open Grand Prix, though he lost in the early rounds. Domestically, Momota concluded the year by reaching the quarterfinals of the All Japan Badminton Championships, where he lost to Kenichi Tago.

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2012 Momota capped off his historic junior career in 2012 while continuing to gain experience on the senior circuit. At the Asian Junior Championships held in Gimcheon, South Korea, he won gold medals in the boys' singles and the mixed team event. Later that year, Momota made history at the World Junior Championships held in Chiba, Japan, by becoming the first Japanese male player to win the boys' singles title; he also contributed to Japan's mixed team silver medal.

On the senior circuit, Momota reached the quarterfinals at the Vietnam Open Grand Prix, placed third at the Osaka International, and advanced to the third round in his Asian Championships debut. He competed in several Super Series and Grand Prix Gold tournaments but exited in the early rounds. By the end of the year, his world ranking reached No. 90.

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2013 In 2013, Momota graduated from high school and turned professional by joining the NTT East badminton team. He began the year by winning three consecutive International Challenge titles in Europe: the Estonian International, the Swedish International, and the Austrian International. In November, he reached his first Super Series Premier semifinal at the China Open. He also advanced to the semifinals at the U.S. Open and the quarterfinals at the Singapore Open and China Masters. Domestically, he was a semifinalist at the All Japan Badminton Championships in December. By the end of 2013, his world ranking had climbed to No. 17.

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2014 In May 2014, 19-year-old Kento Momota played a pivotal role in Japan's historic first Thomas Cup victory in New Delhi. He was undefeated throughout the tournament, winning all five of his matches, which included crucial victories over Du Pengyu of China in the semifinal and Chong Wei Feng of Malaysia in the final. On the individual circuit, Momota's best result was reaching the semifinal of the French Open Super Series, where he was defeated by China's Wang Zhengming. He also reached the quarterfinals at the All England Open, the China Open, and the Australian Open. In August, he made his World Championships debut in Copenhagen but exited in the first round. The following month, at the Asian Games in Incheon, he advanced to the third round of the men's singles before losing to Chen Long of China, the eventual gold medalist. Momota concluded his season by qualifying for the BWF Super Series Finals in Dubai, where he was eliminated in the round-robin stage.

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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 holds the record as the youngest Super Series champion in that category. In the 2015 Sudirman Cup, he repeated his Thomas Cup feat to help Japan secure a runner-up position. He once again made history at the 2015 BWF World Championships held in Jakarta. He became the first Japanese player to win a medal in the men's singles event of the prestigious tournament. He made it to the semi-finals before losing to Chen Long in straight games. Rounding off the year, he won the 2015 BWF World Superseries Finals in Dubai. He also competed at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, as well as the 2016 Badminton Asia Team Championships in Hyderabad, India.

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2018 Momota returned to the Japanese national team at the end of 2017. However, due to insufficient ranking points, he did not qualify to play in the 2018 All England Open, a significant Super 1000 tournament held in March. On 28 April, he won the 2018 Asian Championships held in Wuhan, defeating Chen Long of China in the final, 21–17, 21–13.

On 5 August, he won the World Championships title in Nanjing, China, beating Shi Yuqi from China in the final, 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 reach World number 1 in the BWF World rankings on 27 September 2018.

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2019 Momota started the 2019 season by competing at the Malaysia Masters as the first seed, but his run was stopped by Kenta Nishimoto in the first round. He then reached the final of the Indonesia Masters but lost to Anders Antonsen 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 from Denmark in the final in 3 games (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 title in Wuhan, China, beating home favorite Shi Yuqi in three games: 12–21, 21–18, 21–8. He also won the Singapore and Japan Open titles. In August, he reclaimed his World Champion title, beating Anders Antonsen 21–9 and 21–3. In doing so, Momota became only the fourth player to win back-to-back titles, joining a short, all-Chinese list that includes Yang Yang, Lin Dan and Chen Long. After that, he won his first title at the China Open and Korea Open, also defending his titles at the Denmark Open and Fuzhou China Open.

Momota closed his stellar 2019 year by winning his 11th title, the World Tour Finals, beating Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 17–21, 21–17, 21–14. Previously, at the gala dinner of the same event, he was awarded BWF Best Male Player of the Year. He was also nominated as Best Male Athlete by the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive.

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2020 Momota began the 2020 season as the men's singles world number 1. He competed at the Malaysia Masters as the first seed, defeating Indian's Kashyap Parupalli and H. S. Prannoy in the first and second round in straight games, later beating Huang Yuxiang in the quarter-finals in three games. In the semi-final, he dashed the host nation's hopes by defeating Lee Zii Jia 21–10, 21–19. Despite not being at his physical best, Momota pulled off a good performance to beat the 2017 World Champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 24–22, 21–11 in the final. He extended his head-to-head record over Axelsen to 14–1. After winning the Malaysia Masters, Momota was involved in a serious highway accident while en route to the airport; the driver of the vehicle was killed. He was initially reported to have suffered a broken nose and injuries to his lips and face. However, the Nippon Badminton Association later confirmed that he did not sustain any bone fractures.

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2021 In January, Momota tested positive for COVID-19 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. 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 of Malaysia in the quarter-finals in straight games.

During 2020 Summer Olympics, again playing as the top seed, Momota was knocked out in the group stage after losing to the unseeded South Korean Heo Kwang-hee. In September–October, Momota, alongside the Japanese team, competed at the Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, Finland. He helped the team reach the final, but Japan was defeated by China 1–3. At the Thomas Cup 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 and finished in 2nd place to Viktor Axelsen in three games (22–20, 18–21, 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, defeating Anders Antonsen in straight games (21–17, 21–11) in a seemingly one-sided final.

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2022 Momota had a rough start to the 2022 season. Post-injury recovery, besides slipping to number 2 in the world rankings, he did not perform up to his pre-injury level. In the opening season, he participated in three tournaments: the All England Open, German Open and the Asia Championships. In the All England Open, he was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Malaysian Lee Zii Jia 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, 21–23, 9–21. At the Asia Championships, he was defeated in the first round by Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in three games: 21–17, 17–21, 7–21.

In the first round of the Thailand Open, he was eliminated by Zhao Junpeng, 8–21, 11–21.

At the first round of the Indonesia Open, he was knocked out in the first round by the 13th-ranked Rasmus Gemke 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 received 2 walkovers: one against Kantaphon Wangcharoen and another when his opponent, Shesar Hiren Rhustavito, retired mid-match due to injury. In the final, Momota was beaten quickly by Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, 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" he was looking for.

In the following week, Momota lost in the round of 16 at the Malaysia Masters to compatriot Kanta Tsuneyama, 16–21, 15–21, in a match lasting 50 minutes.

In late August, playing in his home country, Momota took part in the World Championships as the 2nd seed. He was upset by the unseeded Prannoy H. S. in the round of 32, losing 17–21, 16–21 in straight games.

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2024 On the 18th April, Momota announced his retirement from the Japanese national team, with the 2024 Thomas Cup being his last international tournament, finishing off his career with 3 wins.

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Awards and nominations

+
2019

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Achievements

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BWF World Championships Men's singles

2015	Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia	Chen Long	9–21, 15–21	Bronze
2018	Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park, Nanjing, China	Shi Yuqi	21–11, 21–13	Gold
2019	St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland	Anders Antonsen	21–9, 21–3	Gold

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Asian Championships Men's singles

2018	Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China	Chen Long	21–17, 21–13	Gold
2019	Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China	Shi Yuqi	12–21, 21–18, 21–8	Gold

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BWF World Junior Championships Boys' singles

2011	Taoyuan Arena, Taoyuan City, Taipei, Taiwan	Zulfadli Zulkiffli	18–21, 18–21	Bronze
2012	Chiba Port Arena, Chiba, Japan	Xue Song	21–17, 19–21, 21–19	Gold

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Asian Junior Championships Boys' singles

2011	Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, Lucknow, India	Zulfadli Zulkiffli	18–21, 19–21	Bronze
2012	Gimcheon Indoor Stadium, Gimcheon, South Korea	Soong Joo Ven	21–13, 22–20	Gold

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BWF World Tour (16 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 (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

2018	Malaysia Open	Super 750	Lee Chong Wei	17–21, 21–23	Runner-up
2018	Indonesia Open	Super 1000	Viktor Axelsen	21–14, 21–9	Winner
2018	Japan Open	Super 750	Khosit Phetpradab	21–14, 21–11	Winner
2018	China Open	Super 1000	Anthony Sinisuka Ginting	21–23, 19–21	Runner-up
2018	Denmark Open	Super 750	Chou Tien-chen	22–20, 16–21, 21–15	Winner
2018	Fuzhou China Open	Super 750	Chou Tien-chen	21–13, 11–21, 21–16	Winner
2018	BWF World Tour Finals	World Tour Finals	Shi Yuqi	12–21, 11–21	Runner-up
2019	Indonesia Masters	Super 500	Anders Antonsen	16–21, 21–14, 16–21	Runner-up
2019	German Open	Super 300	Kenta Nishimoto	21–10, 21–16	Winner
2019	All England Open	Super 1000	Viktor Axelsen	21–11, 15–21, 21–15	Winner
2019	Singapore Open	Super 500	Anthony Sinisuka Ginting	10–21, 21–19, 21–13	Winner
2019	Japan Open	Super 750	Jonatan Christie	21–16, 21–13	Winner
2019	China Open	Super 1000	Anthony Sinisuka Ginting	19–21, 21–17, 21–19	Winner
2019	Korea Open	Super 500	Chou Tien-chen	21–19, 21–17	Winner
2019	Denmark Open	Super 750	Chen Long	21–14, 21–12	Winner
2019	Fuzhou China Open	Super 750	Chou Tien-chen	21–15, 17–21, 21–18	Winner
2019	BWF World Tour Finals	World Tour Finals	Anthony Sinisuka Ginting	17–21, 21–17, 21–14	Winner
2020	Malaysia Masters	Super 500	Viktor Axelsen	24–22, 21–11	Winner
2021	Denmark Open	Super 1000	Viktor Axelsen	22–20, 18–21, 12–21	Runner-up
2021	Indonesia Masters	Super 750	Anders Antonsen	21–17, 21–11	Winner
2022	Malaysia Open	Super 750	Viktor Axelsen	4–21, 7–21	Runner-up
2023	Korea Masters	Super 300	Koki Watanabe	21–16, 21–15	Winner

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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 (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were BWF Superseries. 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

2015	Singapore Open	Hu Yun	21–17, 16–21, 21–15	Winner
2015	Indonesia Open	Jan Ø. Jørgensen	16–21, 21–19, 21–7	Winner
2015	Dubai World Superseries Finals	Viktor Axelsen	21–15, 21–12	Winner
2016	India Open	Viktor Axelsen	21–15, 21–18	Winner

BWF Superseries Finals tournament

BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Superseries tournament

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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 (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

Men's singles

2017	Canada Open	Kanta Tsuneyama	20–22, 21–14, 14–21	Runner-up
2017	Dutch Open	Yu Igarashi	21–10, 21–12	Winner
2017	Macau Open	Ihsan Maulana Mustofa	21–16, 21–10	Winner

BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

BWF Grand Prix tournament

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BWF International Challenge/Series (7 titles) Men's singles

2013	Estonian International	Eetu Heino	20–22, 21–15, 21–15	Winner
2013	Swedish Masters	Eric Pang	21–9, 16–21, 21–18	Winner
2013	Austrian International	Riichi Takeshita	21–19, 21–12	Winner
2017	Yonex / K&D Graphics International	Kevin Cordón	21–7, 21–15	Winner
2017	Belgian International	Lee Cheuk Yiu	21–14, 21–18	Winner
2017	Czech Open	Thomas Rouxel	21–8, 21–14	Winner
2018	Vietnam International	Goh Giap Chin	21–9, 21–15	Winner

BWF International Challenge tournament

BWF International Series tournament

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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, who spent 10 million yen after 60 visits to various casinos. The Nippon Badminton Association secretary general Kinji Zeniya said it would “probably be impossible” for Momota to participate in the Rio 2016 Olympics, 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.

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Career overview

Total	499	388	111	+277
Current year (2024)	8	7	1	+6

Total	6	2	4	-2
Current year (2024)	0	0	0	0

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Performance timeline

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National team

• Junior level

Asian Junior Championships	RR	QF	G
World Junior Championships	5th	5th	S

• Senior level

Asian Championships

NH

S

NH

QF

NH

A

NH

A

NH

B

Asian Games

QF

NH

B

NH

A

NH

Thomas Cup

G

NH

A

NH

S

NH

B

NH

B

NH

QF

Sudirman Cup

NH

S

NH

A

NH

S

NH

S

NH

A

NH

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Individual competitions

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Junior level

• Boys' singles

Asian Junior Championships	4R	B	G
World Junior Championships	3R	B	G

• Boys' doubles

Asian Junior Championships	2R	2R
World Junior Championships	A	3R

• Mixed doubles

Asian Junior Championships	A	2R
World Junior Championships	2R	A

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Senior level

Asian Championships

3R

2R

1R

A

G

G

NH

1R

Asian Games

NH

3R

NH

3R

NH

A

World Championships

NH

1R

B

NH

G

G

NH

2R

Olympic Games

NH

NH

RR

NH

Malaysia Open

A

QF

QF

2R

A

F

2R

NH

F

A

F ('18, '22)

India Open

A

1R

1R

2R

W

A

NH

A

1R

A

W ('16)

Indonesia Masters

A

1R

A

NH

A

F

W

A

1R

Q1

W ('21)

German Open

A

2R

3R

A

QF

W

NH

1R

SF

A

W ('19)

French Open

A

1R

SF

2R

A

SF

QF

NH

SF

A

SF ('14, '18, '21)

All England Open

A

QF

QF

QF

A

W

A

QF

QF

1R

A

W ('19)

Swiss Open

A

QF

A

NH

A

QF ('18)

Thailand Open

NH

A

NH

A

NH

1R

A

1R ('22)

Malaysia Masters

A

2R

A

1R

W

NH

2R

1R

W ('20)

Singapore Open

A

QF

1R

W

A

W

NH

A

W ('15, '19)

Indonesia Open

A

1R

W

A

W

2R

NH

2R

1R

1R

W ('15, '18)

Australian Open

A

3R

QF

2R

A

NH

A

1R

QF ('14)

U.S. Open

A

SF

A

NH

A

SF ('13)

Canada Open

A

2R

3R

A

F

A

NH

A

1R

F ('17)

Japan Open

A

2R

1R

2R

A

W

W

NH

1R

1R

W ('18, '19)

Korea Open

A

2R

SF

A

QF

W

NH

A

2R

W ('19)

Vietnam Open

A

QF

A

NH

A

QF ('12)

Hong Kong Open

A

1R

1R

2R

A

SF

NH

A

SF ('18)

China Open

A

1R

SF

QF

2R

A

F

W

NH

A

W ('19)

Denmark Open

A

1R

2R

QF

A

W

W

F

A

W ('18, '19)

Korea Masters

2R

A

NH

A

W

W ('23)

Japan Masters

NH

QF

QF ('23)

China Masters

A

QF

A

W

W

NH

A

W ('18, '19)

BWF Superseries / World Tour Finals

RR

W

F

W

RR

W ('15, '19)

Dutch Open

A

W

A

NH

N/A

W ('17)

Macau Open

A

2R

1R

2R

A

W

A

NH

W ('17)

Year-end ranking

90

17

13

3

—

48

1

1

1

2

18

38

—

1

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Record against selected opponents Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 7 May 2024.

Chen Jin	-1
Chen Long	0
Du Pengyu	0
Lin Dan	+3
Shi Yuqi	0
Tian Houwei	0
Zhao Junpeng	-1
Chou Tien-chen	+12
Anders Antonsen	+5
Viktor Axelsen	+11
Jan Ø. Jørgensen	+2
Hans-Kristian Vittinghus	+8
Rajiv Ouseph	+2
Kevin Cordón	+1
Parupalli Kashyap	+5
Prannoy H.S.	+6

Srikanth Kidambi	+13
Lakshya Sen	+1
B. Sai Praneeth	+3
Anthony Sinisuka Ginting	+6
Tommy Sugiarto	+6
Sho Sasaki	0
Lee Chong Wei	0
Liew Daren	+4
Loh Kean Yew	+1
Heo Kwang-hee	+2
Lee Hyun-il	+1
Son Wan-ho	+1
Boonsak Ponsana	+2
Kunlavut Vitidsarn	+1
Kantaphon Wangcharoen	+3
Nguyễn Tiến Minh	0

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Equipment

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Known Rackets Used

• Yonex Arcsaber Z Slash (Early Years)
• Yonex Voltric Z Force (2012 - 2014)
• Yonex Voltric Z Force II (2014 - 2016)
• Yonex Duora Z Strike (2017)
• Yonex Astrox 88D Red/Green (2018)
• Yonex Astrox 99 (2018 - 2021)
• Yonex Astrox 99 Pro (2021 - 2023)
• Yonex Astrox 77 Pro (2023 - 2024)

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External links

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