I would be surprised if he even wins a set today. Yesterday, it was painful to watch the grinding in the first set.
I'm thinking he might be ok given his shot quality is better. But if he cannot get the smashes of LSF then it is bye bye.
He's playing so passively. Why's he going back to his drop and clear game when it's clearly not working against Li? Coaches surely should be picking this up as well... He's much better when he's attacking.
It feels like he is playing very slow compared to how he played with SYQ. Sent from my CPH2381 using Tapatalk
Disappointing game, he looks like a deer in the headlights. Has no sense of direction and way too timid. Sato Shoji should replace Nakanishi
After he didn't get those first two nets over at the start, and Li put away those smashes from his forehand, Momota retreated back into his shell. I really don't get why he wasn't advised to be more aggressive. Frustrating to watch. Hopefully he is not as mentally frail for All England.
Nakanishi should be anywhere near the coaching chair. I think we can all agree on that. However, Shoji Sato would have to be a miracle worker and not a coach to turn feckless displays like this one around. No purpose in the rally, no risks taken, no winners, countless unforced errors plus the new element of feeling very, very sorry for oneself. Well deserved win for LSF, who played solid badminton in the best sense of the word (fundamentals).
SYQ was not mentally in it; LSF is calm and focussed and made no silly errors, also Momota was clearing and lifting long very often. Even when LSF had control over the game state, he did not simply fire away but kept chipping away slowly, staying disciplined. A clean, tactical victory.
Li Shifeng beat Shi Yuqi in their club match of CBSL. So, he is obviously no pushover. But everyone who has been matched against Momota on the court knows he has no attack, weak defense and poor basic shot quality. Many players could have put him away in this tournament earlier but lost due to half-hearted mindset. Momota's weight never goes behind the shuttle in his attack and that's why most of his shots/attacks are easily repelled. He has zero weight in his smashes.
If you have weight in your strokes, you don't even need to attack to win/hold your central position. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XzxBGBGHwwA
I think it is simple. Since HeO Kwang Hee Momota has become traumatised against strong smash. 3 smashes and he was done for
