Though I want to see him at Paris, but I think it is going to be difficult. This week, he was not tested against top 10 players, so we still have to see how he fare. He also need to get into top 8, which will not be easy unless he win some big tournaments before the qualifying deadline, which I think is end of April. So that probably left 2 grade 1000 tournaments, or 3, Malaysian Open (usually in early months of the year, and All England). Next week, he is draw to play in the Men's Qualifying round. Hope he can recuperate in time. Ganbatte Momo
Is it even still possible for him to qualify for the olympics even if he wins ALL the tournaments until end of April? His ranking is 50 something which is pretty far off.
With his victory, Momota's points will rise this week by 7000-2220 = 4780 points, so his ranking will jump to about #40. It sounds a long shot to qualify for Paris, but who knows.
Fo MS, he only needs to get to the top 16 to qualify right? Each country can send two representatives if both are in the top 16? Top 8 only applies to doubles i think. I don’t think he can catch up to naraoka and qualify as their top MS but second spot might be doable if he starts playing well but for sure in later this week in japan against the regular top players will be the true test, i hope he is not too tired considering everyone else dint play in korea and he has to start from qualifying.
Have not cheered out loud while watching on live TV for a very long time. So so happy for him! Regardless of the path ahead, it was just so gratifying to see him beam with joy after the final point. Ganbatte Momota-san!
It is two in the top 16 for singles and two in the top 8 for doubles, but Japan will not play favorites, so he'll need to be the second highest qualifier inside the top 16 to go to Paris. Nishimoto is currently at #13, and assuming Nishimoto will be able to maintain that ranking by the end of April, Momota would need to aim for #12. What's more urgent for him if he wants to go to Paris is to get back into the top 32 as soon as possible so that he could play in the few remaining top tournaments next year, with the first big one starting as early as January. Kumamoto Masters is his last tournament this year, so it will be an important tournament, both in terms of ranking and for gauging where he currently stands. I'd like to see him fight until the end to qualify, but health is more important, so even if he takes it slowly and fails to qualify, it's good enough to just see him enjoying playing badminton for a while longer.
Is it a must to send the top 2 even if everyone is in the top 16? Are they not allowed to send whoever is “on form” as long they are in the top 16?
I don't think I've seen a former world number 1 player who's under 30, playing for qualification for 500 series tournament. As others have said, he hasn't faced a top ten player and but good to see him win.
If he cant beat LKY, it means he’s not ready to play with the top players again. Hopefully he keeps it up!
If he can't beat Low Kean Who, he might just be tired. He's played 7 matches in as many days. The tournaments after this will be the interesting ones.
This is his last tournament of the year. Even if he wins the tournament, participating in the MAS S1000 or the IND S750 in January isn’t locked in. His next tournament will likely be the INA S500 at the end of January which pretty much precludes him from joining the FRA S750 in March and probably even the All England. Pretty bleak tbh.
Actually, let me rephrase that: a win means he probably can compete in MAS and IND in January. A runner-up finish puts him in uncertain territory. Losing earlier than that means we'll miss him at the top tournaments for a while again.
True. But the status of his Olympic qualification doesn't reduce the number of games he has played last week. Thus, gauging his potential playing strength is something for the future, imo.
Yeah I agree. He's pretty much out of contention for an Olympic spot. Guess I'm just lamenting that we won't really be seeing him compete at the highest level of the sport for quite a while since he's gonna miss out on a lot of the S1000's and S750's due to his ranking.
Awesome match really! The mouth-watering prospect of back-to-back titles for Momota is still alive!! Would really hearken back to the old days.
