As Momota is the type who plays until he drops, I think his coaching staff could have stepped in to guide him a little better. They have a much more objective perspective vis-a-vis his condition than Momota himself. Tournament tactics is their job.
Japan really need a men's single coach who has good training methods. Maybe Nakanishi fit to Momota but not others, from Nishimoto to Tsuneyama.
Nothing, I am afraid. It looks as though he is continuing to pay lip-service to his sponsors by updating ads on his twitter page, but apart from that, zilch. I would speculate that he is currently in Shikoku with his family, licking his wounds, but I don't know. Do you have any news on him?
@kurako I have nothing new like you too. I think he is under thorough treatment at NTT hospital and then go back to his hometown.
I hope that he has wished for a lot of faith to recover and that Santa Clause brings him a giant health box that restores his health to a 100. #TeamMomota
I assume he's not playing in the All Japan Championship then? PS. Nevermind, saw Kurako's update on the previous page.
What’s the latest with him? Cant find any news related to him but then idk Japanese so I can’t search those
Momota will, no doubt, participate in the S/J League, due to be held next month. Although he now has a 'pro' contract with NTT-East, I think that he will represent the corporation in the MS category, along with Koga Minoru. In March, Team A is scheduled to participate in German Open, All England, and Swiss Open.
Just wondering, is the tour back to normal since many European countries are easing up on restrictions?
Hello @kurako - Hope you are doing well. Any more news on S/J league as in the date it will start and would it be possible to watch outside Japan? The translation function isn't working for me on the S/J League page. Thank you
Hi @Quentin11! I am fine; I hope that all is well with you, too. Due to COVID-19, the S/J League is taking the form of a much shorter tournament this year, match-ups being based on the results of the 2019 S/J League, i.e., the last time the League took place. R1-R2 will be played on February 5-6, and the SF-Finals are scheduled for February 11-12, as follows: Incidentally, information on each corporate team's players is available at https://www.sj-league.jp/team-info/. Just click on the button of the team of your choice, and information on your favourite players, be it: or becomes available. .... All in Japanese, though.... The only livestreaming I am aware of will be shown on JSports, a subscription channel. I am sure that some of the matches will surface on YouTube, though.
Good news for NTT-East! Takei Riki (MS/MD; Futaba Future HS) will join the corporate team after graduating this March. Unfortunately, he will be splitting up from his MD partner, who will be entering Meiji University. Whatever, at long last, Momota may have somebody to work on.
Good question. Volleyball is definitely regarded as more 'hip' than badminton. Let's face it; in Japan, badminton is not considered a particularly cool sport. Actually, at school, usually only the kids that can't swing a baseball bat or kick a football tend to choose it. Despite this handicap, however, Momota has still managed to attract marginally more Twitter followers. But if we switch Nishida with Ishikawa Yuki, or even Yanagida Masahiro...
Ishikawa is still more popular that Nishida? I thought the flashiness of Nishida would cast a shadow over Ishikawa.
