Two years after car crash - badminton ace Kento Momota, once so feared by all, now in free fall

Kento Momota - the left-handed ace flopped at the Tokyo Olympics and has lost in the first round of four of the five singles tournaments he has entered this year. - AFP

Tokyo, June 17, 2022 (AFP): Japan's Kento Momota was once badminton's undisputed king but his career has gone into free fall ever since a car crash more than two years ago which left him badly hurt.

There are now severe doubts that the 27-year-old former two-times world champion -- who was embroiled in a gambling scandal earlier in his career -- will ever reach the top again.