I wonder with this raquet talk, was it not like back in the day that they simply changed paint for old rackets? Like, did Lin Dan not roll with Armortec 700 or something even when Yonex said he didn't? Is that no longer the case, maybe even for Kento?
I hope that is not the case for Momota because I had bought the Astrox 99 a few years ago because he used it. Last year I chose a 100 ZZ because Akane uses it
Yonex should make a special Armortec 700 KM edition, that will make him unbeatable for sure. (I would buy it also)
At this point I wouldn't be surprised, if Momota was involved in a betting scheme. PJB and most of the coaching staff should be out as well. The entire team (- AY) once again is unprepared at the most important tournaments, first round exits and injuries galore.
What the absolute hell is happening to Momota? He should not have lost todays game against Chico. Only the Lord can help him now, his mind is not in a good place... He has not been playing well at all since that curly hair coach started appearing at his matches. Once he warms up properly, all is good. He can still play for example, the 13/12 point in the second set was absolutely awesome.
Now Kento has fallen to the lowest level and he seems to be the worst of the current MS players from Japan. He is just not the same player before the fatal car accident. Maybe he should just retire and do something else.
If you were among the 30 best in the world, would you think of retirement. Just choose the correct level of tournament and enjoy winning..
But the fact that Momota have fallen so fast so far. How long would you want to stay outside top 10 before retiring? against Chico its a horrow show
Trying to make sense of what everyone said.. 1) Momota seems to be lagging behind most shots due to eye injury leading to decreased judgement 2) Point 1 leads to a lowered level of confidence and hesitation behind his movements - "should I do XX or YY". And I would like to think that his shot quality is still on par with his top ranked peers. 3) A minor factor that I noticed is the decreased agility of his racquet movement, it seems as tho 99 is obstructing him from performing consecutive or quick smashes that is part of his "percentage" player package. Where he had multiple and varying shots of high quality that simple overtire or outmaneuver opponent, usually leading to their demise. But instead, most of Momota's opponents feeds on his passiveness and attempts quicker or stronger attacks turning it Momota's devastating weakness as pointed in Point 1 & 2. Not an expert, but just interesting to dissect Momota's performance because we want to see him back in his prime once more.
I already sensed a first round exit this week after I saw his struggles against that Mexican player last week and seeing he was drawn against Chico this week. On paper he is top 10 but realistically he’s 30-50 judging from the way he’s playing. Not being cynical but that’s just reality. I support Momota and Japanese players always but it really is true he’s not even top 20 at this stage. Nishimoto is like the de facto Japan number 1 at the moment it seems.
I mentioned that before. He had eye surgery following the accident and I think it affects the way he sees the shuttle. It could be that he sees the shuttle a fraction late, obviously he is not going to disclose to the media if he does suffer from any of that. He was known for his legendary defense as he wasn't an attacking player and relied on solid defense and fast movements but it seems that low ranked players have defeated him by attacking at will and he's unable to defend as before.
Don't forget that Momota won the Indonesia Masters last year, beating Laksha Sen, CTC, and Antonsen, on his way to win the MS titles for the Indonesia Masters. Momota also reached the finals of the Denmark Open last year, taking Viktor to 3 sets. This was all after the car accident. I think it's an issue beyond the car accident and him getting covid. It reminds me of when Taufik retired. Taufik's game just dropped off a cliff as he reached his late twenties. Compare Taufik to LCW, where LCW was still a top #2 player in the world at 36 years of age. Maybe Momota is just like Taufik, where his game doesn't age well.
