PETALING JAYA: Former world champion Kento Momota (pic) has arrived in Malaysia together with the Japan’s team and banking on pure luck to see action in the home tournament.
The 2022 finalist Momota is in the men’s singles reserve list and if two players pull out, he will get to play in the tournament, starting on Tuesday at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil. His fate will be known during the team manager’s meeting tomorrow.
Momota last won here when he captured the Malaysian Masters in 2020 before a road accident on the way back home, hampered his career. He made a comeback in 2022 and is looking at regaining his top 10 position in the world.
He is currently lying at 38th spot in the world behind his teammates Kodai Naraoka (world No. 2), Kenta Nishimoto (12), Kanta Tsuneyama (13), Koki Watanabe (23) and Takuma Obayashi (34). Except for Obayashi, the others are playing in the main draw.
Despite having more singles players in the top 50, head coach Park Joo-bong remains humble.
“Momota is here, let’s see whether he can get in. If he does not, he will compete in the Indonesian Masters (Jan 23-28) next. He is in good form but he needs opportunity to play,” said Joo-bong.
“We are happy to have more singles players but we need quality performance.”
Joo-bong’s move to underplay the expectation of his singles players at the Malaysian Open is understandable as Japan had never won the home title since the tournament’s inception in 1937.
Besides Momota’s final appearance in 2022, Naraoka also reached the final last year but lost to Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in a one-sided affair.
