Two-time world champion Kento Momota announces retirement from international badminton
Momota became the first Japanese man to win the world championship in 2018 in China and the following year he successfully defended his crown in Switzerland.
Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap bowed out of the Korea Open competition on Saturday after he experienced a straight-games loss in the semifinals of the men’s single event against Kento Momota of Japan, who is the current World No 1.
Kashyap was the only Indian left alive in the competition after all the star Indian shuttlers had bowed out of the competition making early-round exits from the tournament. He lost the match 12-21, 15-21 in a contest that lasted as long as 40 minutes at the Incheon Airport Skydome. Kashyap’s Japanese opponent has now extended his lead to three wins to none over the Indian.
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Despite making a good start in the first game of the match, the 33-year-old Indian failed to take advantage of the start and went into the mid-game break trailing 7-11.
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After the game resumed, the Japanese shuttler did not even give an inch to Kashpay and sealed the game 21-13.
In the second game, Kashyap once again tried his level best to try and force the match into a deciding game but his Japanese opponent was up for the challenge. At one stage, Kashyap won six straight points to make the score level at 9-9 but Momoto came back really strong to take the game 21-15 after being tied at 9-9 and then 12-12 at one stage.
Momota will now be up against Taiwan’s Tien Chen Chou in the finals of the tournament.
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