Ok all I know is that he won the Championship but did not know how the match went on. The very first time the camera showed Momota, I was like, Oh Oh - he seems nervous. Then he started doing his nervous jumps etc which confirmed. But even though he was nervous. He wasn't at his level at all. It's his first tourney though so we will have to see how it goes. Maybe he was simply not match fit as well. I hope Thailand Open doesn't get canceled or Team Japan opt to not go etc.
https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/ba...iland-tournaments-after-momota-tests-positive Yup, Momota tested +ve for Covid 19. Japan team has pulled out of Thailand Open. Though I'm a bit surprised cos from what I've seen from other sports how Japan handle tournaments, they are the most strict with protocols. Japan just had figure skating natinals and they had : Masks, social distancing(even during medal ceremony), touching discouraged,plastic screen barriers.
Momota has been cleared to practice and compete. Is he going to play in the second & third tournaments of the Asian Leg? I can't find that information anywhere.
no. japanese team withdrew from all 3 tournaments. the entry deadline -usually 30 days before a tournament start date- has long passed.
@samkool So he was removed from world tour finals purely because of his own condition? Because I see Nishimoto listed on BWF
wtf qualification period is the calendar year starting in january. world ranking doesn't matter. momota could not play enough tourneys due to the auto accident on the way to the airport after the malaysia masters in january 2020. he's #40 on the list: https://bwfbadminton.com/rankings/9/hsbc-race-guangzhou/57/men-s-singles/2021/3/?rows=50&page_no=1