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 | Suspended |
Medal record
| |
| BWF profile | |
| Updated on 05:48, 19 August 2015 (UTC). | |
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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 which is very similar to that of the two time Olympic champion, Lin Dan.
He won all of the matches he competed in Japan's maiden Thomas Cup victory in 2014. 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
Finals: 7 (7 titles, 0 runners-up)
| Outcome | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 2016 | India Open |  Viktor Axelsen | 21-15, 21-18 |
| Winner | 2015 | BWF World Superseries Finals | Viktor Axelsen | 21-15, 21-12 |
| Winner | 2015 | Indonesia Open | Jan O Jorgensen | 16-21, 21-19, 21-7 |
| Winner | 2015 | Singapore Open |  Hu Yun | 21-17, 16-21, 21-15 |
| Winner | 2013 | Austrian International Challenge | Riichi Takeshita | 21–19, 21-12 |
| Winner | 2013 | Swedish International Stockholm |  Eric Pang | 21–9, 16–21, 21-18 |
| Winner | 2013 | Estonian International |  Eetu Heino | 20–22, 21-15, 21-15 |
| Winner | 2012 | Asian Junior Championships |  Soong Joo Ven | 21–13, 22–20 |
| Winner | 2012 | World Junior Championships |  Xue Song | 21–17, 19–21, 21–19 |
Gambling
On April 7, 2016, Momota admitted visiting an illegal casino in Tokyo after casino staff reported him gambling there "frequently". In a 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. 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. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
- ↑ "S'pore Open men's champ axed from tournament". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2016-04-07.