Crash – and a jolt for Kento’s Olympic dreams

PUTRAJAYA: World No. 1 Kento Momota (pic) is the overwhelming favourite for Tokyo Olympics and hopes are high on him to win a gold medal in his home country. It looks like the men’s singles gold is his to lose, going by his dominant form.

Last year, he featured in 12 finals, bagged a record-breaking 11 titles and winning 67 out of the 73 matches in the process.

Momota carried his scintillating form into the new season, winning the just-concluded Perodua Malaysian Masters by defeating Denmark’s world No. 5 Viktor Axelsen, touted as one of his main Olympic contenders, for the 13th straight time.

But the Olympic dream may have taken a huge jolt, at least temporarily, after the road accident while he was on his way to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Monday morning.

The van he was in rammed into a 30-tonne lorry on the KM137 MEX Highway.

Also in the van were Japanese team officials – assistant coach Yu Hirayama and physiotherapist Morimoto Akifumi – and Hawkeye system operator William Thomas. The driver N. Bavan was killed on the spot. Fortunately, Momota and the three other passengers escaped with minor injuries.

Momota suffered a fractured nasal bone, fractured cheekbone and received stitches to his lips. Luckily, for the two-time world champion, there were no injuries on his hands and legs.

His condition is reported to be stable and he is currently being treated at the Putrajaya Hospital. The bigger question is: how is Momota going to recover from the event? And has he been affected psychologically?

He already missed out on his Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro four years ago after another “incident” and it would be a big blow if this incident hampers his preparations for the Games.

In 2016, the then 21-year-old Momota’s challenge in the Malaysian Open was cut short after news of him and compatriot Kenichi Tago gambling at an illegal casino in Japan in 2015 broke out.

Momota, who was at the peak of his career at that time having reached a career best second in the world ranking, conceded a walkover in the second round and was flown home. Gambling is a criminal offence in Japan.

Japan head coach Park Joo-bong was in disbelief about the misfortune that struck Momota just a day after celebrating his convincing victory in the Malaysian Masters final.

“He has just become a champion and was about to go home a happy man... all of a sudden, this had to happen to him. It really saddens me, ” said Joo Bong.

Momota, who had been initially registered for the Indonesian Masters which begins today, had already withdrawn from the tournament early last week.