Two-time world champion Kento Momota yesterday suffered a shock first-round defeat at the Badminton Asia Championships in Manila as his poor run of form hit a new low.
Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo, ranked 52nd in the world, lost the first game, but stormed back to stun the Japanese top seed 17-21, 21-17, 21-7 in just over an hour.
In the women’s singles, Japanese top seed Akane Yamaguchi had no such trouble with a 21-15, 21-9 demolition of India’s Aakarshi Kashyap in just 26 minutes.
Photo: AP
Momota, a former world No. 1 who is now ranked second behind Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen, said: “I couldn’t cope with the wind and heat at the venue today.”
“It wasn’t about my opponent, I think my performance wasn’t good at all,” the 27-year-old said. “I hope to find out what I did wrong and what I need to reflect on so that I can prepare for next time.”
Momota has failed to rediscover his scintillating top form after being badly injured in a career-threatening car crash in January 2020.
Momota’s only title since came at the Indonesia Masters in November last year, and soon after he pulled out of December’s BWF World Championships with a back injury.
Momota lost his opening match at the German Open last month and failed to get past the quarter-finals at the All England Open Badminton Championships.
He said his “spirit was almost broken” by the accident, which killed his driver on the way to Kuala Lumpur International Airport hours after he won the Malaysia Masters.
Some of Taiwan’s players fared better, with world No. 15 Wang Tzu-wei taking 53 minutes to beat his Malaysian opponent, world No. 113 Sholeh Aidil, 21-14, 9-21, 21-18.
In the women’s singles, Wen Chi-hsu thrashed Malaysia’s Tan Zhing-yi 21-7, 21-10 in 21 minutes.
In the women’s doubles, Chang Ching-hui and Lee Chih-chen also made quick work of their opponents, taking 26 minutes to beat Hong Kong’s Leung Sze-lok and Yuen Sin-ying 21-10, 21-13.
Sung Shuo-yun, Lin Chun-yi and Pai Yu-po were less fortunate and were eliminated.
Additional reporting by staff writer
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
Italian Luca de Aliprandini described Saturday’s World Cup giant slalom at Val d’Isere as the hardest race of his life, coming two days after his Swiss partner Michelle Gisin suffered a heavy fall in training which required neck surgery. De Aliprandini finished 26th in the men’s event won by Loic Meillard, but the result paled into insignificance with two-time Olympic ski champion Gisin in hospital with injuries to her wrist, knee and cervical spine (neck). “It was Michelle’s wish that I race here. I couldn’t say no to her, but it was the toughest race of my entire life,” an emotional De
RSS