Kento Momota
| Kento Momota | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Birth name | 桃田 賢斗 |
| Country |
 Japan |
| Born |
1 September 1994 Kagawa Prefecture, Japan |
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) |
| Handedness | Left |
| Coach | Keita Masuda |
| Men's singles | |
| Highest ranking | 2 (7 April 2016) |
| Current ranking | 211 (10 August 2017) |
Medal record
| |
| BWF profile | |
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Kento Momota (桃田 賢斗 Momota Kento, born 1 September 1994 in Kagawa Prefecture) is a male badminton player from Japan. He is known for his explosive movements on court and his unpredictable style of play.
He won all his matches during Japan's maiden Thomas Cup victory in 2014, playing second men's singles behind Kenichi Tago. He was the first Japanese player to win the Singapore Open. By winning that title, he became the first Japanese player to successfully capture a Super Series in Men's Singles and currently holds the record as the youngest Super Series champion in that category.
In 2015 Sudirman Cup, he repeated his feat in Thomas Cup again to help Japan finish runner-up. He made history once more in the BWF World Championships 2015 held in Jakarta. It made him the first Japanese player to win a medal in Men's Singles category in that competition, after emerging as victor. In addition, he was the winner in the 2015 edition of BWF World Superseries Final in Dubai. He competed at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon[1] as well as the 2016 Badminton Asia Team Championships in Hyderabad.
Achievements
World Championships
Men's Singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia |  Chen Long |
9–21, 15–21 |  Bronze |
World Junior Championships
Boys' Singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Chiba Port Arena, Chiba, Japan | Xue Song |
21–17, 19–21, 21–19 |  Gold |
| 2011 | Taoyuan Arena, Taoyuan& Taipei, Chinese Taipei |  Zulfadli Zulkiffli |
18–21, 18–21 | Bronze |
Asia Junior Championships
Boys' Singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Gimcheon Indoor Stadium, Gimcheon, South Korea | Soong Joo Ven |
21–13, 22–20 | Gold |
| 2011 | Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, Lucknow, India | Zulfadli Zulkiffli |
18–21, 19–21 | Bronze |
BWF Superseries
The BWF Superseries, launched on December 14, 2006 and implemented in 2007, is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries has two level such as Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries features twelve tournaments around the world, which introduced since 2011, with successful players invited to the Superseries Finals held at the year end.
Men's Singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | India Open |  Viktor Axelsen |
21–15, 21–18 |  Winner |
| 2015 | World Superseries Finals | Viktor Axelsen |
21–15, 21–12 | Winner |
| 2015 | Indonesia Open | Jan Ø. Jørgensen |
16–21, 21–19, 21–7 | Winner |
| 2015 | Singapore Open |  Hu Yun |
21–17, 16–21, 21–15 | Winner |
- BWF Superseries Finals tournament
- BWF Superseries Premier tournament
- BWF Superseries tournament
BWF Grand Prix
The BWF Grand Prix has two level such as Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007.
Men's Singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Canada Open | Kanta Tsuneyama |
20–22, 21–14, 14–21 |  Runner-up |
- BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
- BWF Grand Prix tournament
BWF International Challenge/Series
Men's Singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International |  Kevin Cordon |
21-7, 21-15 | Winner |
| 2013 | Austrian International | Riichi Takeshita |
21–19, 21–12 | Winner |
| 2013 | Swedish Masters |  Eric Pang |
21–9, 16–21, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2013 | Estonian International |  Eetu Heino |
20–22, 21–15, 21–15 | Winner |
- BWF International Challenge tournament
- BWF International Series tournament
Gambling
On April 7, 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.[2][3] The Nippon Badminton Association secretary general Kinji Zeniya said it would “probably be impossible” for Momota to participate in the 2016 Rio Olympics, with frequent gambling being punishable by law with a prison sentence of up to 3 years.[4][5][6][7]
References
- ↑ "Men's Team - Entry List by Event". Incheon 2014 official website. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ↑ THE PAGE（ザ・ページ） (2016-04-08), バドミントン男子・桃田賢斗、田児賢一 賭博行為について会見, retrieved 2016-04-08
- ↑ "Japan ace Momota 'regrets betrayal' as possible Rio ban looms". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
- ↑ "Badminton stars Momota, Tago admit visiting illegal casinos". The Japan Times Online. 2016-04-07. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
- ↑ "Kento Momota gambles with Rio Olympic berth after casino visit". The Indian Express. 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
- ↑ "Japan badminton ace Kento Momota facing Rio chop over casino visit". France 24. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
- ↑ "S’pore Open men’s champ axed from tournament". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
World rankings: Top ten badminton players as of August 10, 2017 | |
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