Japan loses to Malaysia in the 2024 Thomas Cup quarter-finals, Kento Momota officially retires
CHENGDU – The Japanese men’s badminton team had to lift their suitcases from the mat 2024 Thomas Cup after losing to Malaysia in the quarter-finals. With this, Kento Momota officially retired from international badminton.
In the match which took place at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium, Chengdu, China, Thursday (2/5/2024) evening WIB, Japan surrendered 1-3. Meanwhile, Momota, who was revealed as the third single in the fifth match, failed to show off.
This result also made Momota fail to close his retirement from international badminton sweetly. Previously, he had announced that the Thomas Cup would be his last international tournament.
“This is the last time I will play against the top players (in the world), so I just want to enjoy this tournament (2024 Thomas Cup) and give my best. I feel a little sad because I can’t play against them again, but right now I’m happy to be here “Because this (2024 Thomas Cup) is my last tournament,” said Momota before the 2024 Thomas Cup event started, quoted from the official BWF website.
Even though he didn’t actually play in the quarter-finals and his team lost, individually Momota showed good results. In fact, he is trusted by the team to always play in every match.
Of his three appearances in the group phase, Momota has never failed. The 29 year old player always contributes points and wins for the Japanese team.
Momota’s most dramatic match occurred when Japan faced Taiwan in the final match of Group B. At that time, he played in the final match and faced Lee Chia Hao.
In that match, the victory was not too decisive because Japan was already leading 4-0. However, Momota still fought hard to win in a three-game battle. He won with scores of 21-18, 16-21 and 21-17.
Meanwhile, Momota won another victory over Dominik Kopriva from the Czech Republic with a score of 21-9 and 21-3. Then another one over representative Matthias Kicklitz from Germany with a score of 21-14 and 21-7.
