Tokyo Olympics 2020: Top seed Kento Momota suffers shock exit in group stage

Tokyo Olympics 2020: Top seed Kento Momota suffers shock exit in group stage

Kento Momota

World number one Kento Momota‘s maiden Olympic campaign at the Tokyo Games has come to a shocking end in the group stage. Momota was knocked out in the group stage after losing in straight sets, 15-21, 19-21, to South Korea’s Heo Kwang-hee. There were many expectations from the Japanese after he was banned for gambling in an illegal casino just months before the 2016 Rio Games.

The top seed was in tremendous form a record with 11 titles in 2019, losing just six of the 73 matches he played that year. Momota, who was a favorite for the gold medal, was toppled by an unseeded Heo in just 52 minutes. The ace Japanese shuttler’s shots failed to find their range early in the game which saw him commit numerous unforced errors.

Kento Momota follows the footsteps of Naomi Osaka with an early exit

Kento Momota
Kento Momota

Kento Momota’s s early exit follows similar upsets for high-profile Japanese athletes, including tennis player Naomi Osaka and gymnast Kohei Uchimura. Momota sealed his own fate when he hit the net to end the match. Another seeded player to have made a shock exit from the men’s singles event is world number nine Angus Ng Ka Long.

He too fell prey to unforced errors to crash out of the Tokyo Olympics. Both Momota and Ka Long were set to face B Sai Praneeth in the knockouts earlier. Had the Indian qualified now, his road to the final would have been much easier. Unfortunately, he made a group stage exit losing both his games.

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