Happy Retirement: The Superman Kento Momota and his final bow

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The world of badminton was hit by the news of Kento retiring. Kento be calling the day off after Thomas Cup 2024. A two-time world champion and former World No. 1, said he is retiring from international badminton at the age of 29, admitting he had never been the same since a serious car crash four years ago.

Momota said that his "spirit was almost broken" as he tried to recover from the accident -- hours after he won the Malaysia Master – which killed the driver of the car he took to KLIA airport.

Momota was born in Kagawa Prefecture, and started playing badminton in the second grade of elementary school. When he was in sixth grade he received his first title in the All Japan Elementary School Championship, winning the men's singles category.

The young Kento got his name from the father who was inspired by Kent Clark who play the character Superman. Wanting his son to grow up like the superhero, the father’s wishful thinking never gone unanswered.

Momota's presence was increasingly visible as he took part in a bigger race, the 2011 World Junior Championships held in Taipei, Taiwan. Even though Momota did not win the Championship, his presence was immensely felt. His performance was immediately noticed by the Nippon Badminton Association. Momota began to join the Japanese national team and was expected to be a glittering star. Indeed in 2012, Kento became the Asia Junior Champion and in the same year, Momota also won the World Junior Championships held in Chiba, Japan.

Going into senior scene, he snatches several major badminton titles including two World Championships titles, two Asian Championships titles, and one All England title. In addition, Momota has received a Guinness World Records certificate for "The most badminton men's singles titles in a season", for his achievements by winning 11 titles in the 2019 season.

One of his major disappointments though was early exit in the Japan Olympics. Momota was knocked out in the group stage after losing to the unseeded South Korean Heo Kwang-hee. Was it the accident or the immense pressure to deliver in front of home-crowd?

He went through a period of slump losing early round tournaments, causing his BWF ranking fell like roller coaster after the accident. In his own words, I never felt like recovering. Therefore, going into retirement is the only matter of time. We wish happy retirement to our Superman and good luck in his future endeavors.