Wow, Momota is out of the Olympics in the preliminary round! This is one of the biggest badminton upsets in history! Probably even a bigger upset than when LCW lost to Leverdez in the WC (at least LCW maid the main tournament bracket!)
Wow. Caps. Chill. He has won many honors before and will probably win more in future. Even if he don't win a medal in 2024, that will not tarnish his legacy.
He is referring to the Olympics specifically. A reply to a comment referencing LD's and LCW's "shortcomings" at the Olympics. He is right, LCW has 3 silvers, LD 2 golds. LD missed out in 2004, but in 2004 he was much younger than Momota is now. Missing a medal in 2004 for LD and LCW was not a big deal, they still had many years ahead of them to get these medals, which they did. The same can't be said for Momota.
Momota was not at the same level as LCW, LD, and Chen Long back in 2016. Those three were at their own level. I don't even recall Momota beating either LCW, LD, or Chen Long before Rio 2016 in a major tournament like the WC, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, or Asia Games. If Momota did beat LCW, LD, or Chen Long before Rio 2016, it was probably at a lesser tournament that LCW, LD, and Chen Long didn't care as much about. It was only about 2018 when Momota broke out and truly became the #1 player in the world. By then, LD and Chen Long had regressed. And while LCW seemed maintained much of his game after the Olympics, you knew that his age was getting to him, before he had to retire from the issues with cancer.
Now imagine if Kevin Cordon back in his real prime era (2010s) didn't get screwed over by Guatemala's BA and was actually able to play more on the world tours, imagine where he could have gone
There seems to be quite a lot of wind? And it actually seems to differ depending on which court you're on. So I would say it favours attacking players, who's good at making the opponents lift. So players like Cordon and Kwang-Hee, who's playing style relies heavily on their attack thrives well in this hall. But I think Ka Long was caught a bit off guard, because Cordon played like a maniac, absolutely crazy to watch. I also think Momota was caught off guard by the quality Kwang-Hee was producing.
Yeah, I have seen Momota go pretty defensive before but still win the Super Series and WC. He was pretty defensive today as well. I hope it's not his car accident from last year, or covid this year, that impacted him in this Olympics. Something was not right when Momota lost at the AE this year. I think for players like Momota, he needs to constantly be on the Super Series circuit to maintain his game and consistency, especially if he likes this defensive style. Momota's best attributes are his net shots, his defense, his consistency, and his anticipation (look at how Momota always anticipate Viktor in their matches). By not playing regularly on the Super Series circuit (I guess it's 300+ level tournaments now?), Momota was not in his best form. This is why LD was so impressive when he took a year off badminton, and then came in and won the WC in 2013. What LD did was amazing because he didn't really have any competition throughout the year to keep his skills sharp. And then LD just walks in the WC in 2013 and beats everyone anyways, including LCW. Unfortunately, Momota is not LD. Assuming the car accident and catching covid did not hinder Momota today, I think it's Momota's lack of participation in high level international tournaments that made him so rusty and out of form for this Olympics. Credit also goes to Heo Kwanghee, but I don't think Heo would have beat an "in form" Momota from 2019.