Shocking news: Kento Momota to retire! He suffers another straight-game sweep in the first match of the new season, crashing out in the opening round. The player himself responded after the match...

In 2023, the Badminton World Federation Tour kicked off with a series of high-profile events: just last week, the Super 1000-level Malaysia Open concluded in Kuala Lumpur, and on January 17, the Super 750 India Open officially began in New Delhi. The Chinese badminton team, unchanged from their previous lineup, immediately shifted their focus to India. However, right at noon that day, an upset occurred in the first men’s singles round, as former world champion and long-time No. 1-ranked Japanese star Kento Momota suffered a shocking 0-2 defeat against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen, eliminating him in the opening round. Following the match, Japanese media reported that Momota plans to retire soon, though the news has yet to be confirmed by the player himself.

Twenty-eight-year-old Kento Momota swept 11 men's singles titles in 2019, including back-to-back victories at the World Championships. However, after clinching the Malaysia Masters title in 2020, he was involved in a near-fatal car accident. Since then, his form has steadily declined, and he’s now dropped to 18th in the world rankings.

Since the Tokyo Olympics, Kento Momota has struggled to maintain his form, with few standout performances. However, at the All Japan Championships men’s singles final in early January, Momota finally reclaimed the title after a two-year hiatus, reigniting hope among his loyal fans that the former world champion might be back on track. Yet, despite this encouraging comeback, Momota opted not to compete in the first major tournament of the year—the Malaysia Open, the highest-level event hosted by the Badminton World Federation—instead choosing instead to kick off his campaign directly at the India Open. As a result, his world ranking has now dropped to No. 16, and within the Japanese team, he’s increasingly being overtaken by rising stars like Koki Naraoka and Kanta Tsuneyama.

Momota didn’t participate in last week’s Malaysia Open, opting instead to kick off his season at the India tournament, where he’ll face Gemke in the first round. In their previous six encounters, Momota has secured 5 victories, though last year at the Indonesia Open, he surprisingly lost in three straight games to Gemke in the opening round.

Today, in their first-round clash at the India Open, Kento Momota still seemed unable to find his rhythm—indeed, he never managed to take the lead in the opening game. In the second set, he was consistently on the defensive, allowing Jørgensen to pull away with a dominant 15-5 run and ultimately fall short of advancing past the first round. Next week, Momota will shift his focus to the Indonesia Masters, a Super 500 event, where he’ll once again face Jørgensen. It remains to be seen whether he can finally break his two-match losing streak against the Danish player and secure his first victory of the season. Meanwhile, Momota’s form has deteriorated dramatically, prompting some Japanese media outlets to report that he may announce his retirement in the coming days—but so far, he hasn’t confirmed these rumors himself.

Crossing his arms over his waist—this has become the most familiar scene whenever A Tao loses! It’s the 7th time in his last 10 matches that he’s been eliminated in the first round!

“I’m finding it tough to control the ball, but I’ve already recovered from the flu and feel great physically. I need to work even harder for the rest of the year."Judging from the post-match interview, Kento Momota clearly seems ready to finish the season—so the rumors have been debunked all on their own!"