Kento Momota

Momota competed in both junior and senior international tournaments in 2011. At the junior level, he won bronze medals at the World Junior Championships held in Taipei, Taiwan and the Asian Junior Championships held in Lucknow, India. He then transitioned to the senior circuit by entering higher-tier BWF tournaments. He made his Super Series debut at the Japan Open, and competed in the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold and the Canada Open Grand Prix, though he lost in the early rounds. Domestically, Momota concluded the year by reaching the quarterfinals of the All Japan Badminton Championships, where he lost to Kenichi Tago.

Momota capped off his historic junior career in 2012 while continuing to gain experience on the senior circuit. At the Asian Junior Championships held in Gimcheon, South Korea, he won gold medals in the boys' singles and the mixed team event. Later that year, Momota made history at the World Junior Championships held in Chiba, Japan, by becoming the first Japanese male player to win the boys' singles title; he also contributed to Japan's mixed team silver medal.

On the senior circuit, Momota reached the quarterfinals at the Vietnam Open Grand Prix, placed third at the Osaka International, and advanced to the third round in his Asian Championships debut. He competed in several Super Series and Grand Prix Gold tournaments but exited in the early rounds. By the end of the year, his world ranking reached No. 90.

In 2013, Momota graduated from high school and turned professional by joining the NTT East badminton team. He began the year by winning three consecutive International Challenge titles in Europe: the Estonian International, the Swedish International, and the Austrian International. In November, he reached his first Super Series Premier semifinal at the China Open. He also advanced to the semifinals at the U.S. Open and the quarterfinals at the Singapore Open and China Masters. Domestically, he was a semifinalist at the All Japan Badminton Championships in December. By the end of 2013, his world ranking had climbed to No. 17.

In May 2014, 19-year-old Kento Momota played a pivotal role in Japan's historic first Thomas Cup victory in New Delhi. He was undefeated throughout the tournament, winning all five of his matches, which included crucial victories over Du Pengyu of China in the semifinal and Chong Wei Feng of Malaysia in the final. On the individual circuit, Momota's best result was reaching the semifinal of the French Open Super Series, where he was defeated by China's Wang Zhengming. He also reached the quarterfinals at the All England Open, the China Open, and the Australian Open. In August, he made his World Championships debut in Copenhagen but exited in the first round. The following month, at the Asian Games in Incheon, he advanced to the third round of the men's singles before losing to Chen Long of China, the eventual gold medalist. Momota concluded his season by qualifying for the BWF Super Series Finals in Dubai, where he was eliminated in the round-robin stage.

In 2015, he became the first Japanese player to win the Singapore Open. By winning that title, he became the first Japanese player to successfully capture a Superseries in the men's singles and holds the record as the youngest Super Series champion in that category. In the 2015 Sudirman Cup, he repeated his Thomas Cup feat to help Japan secure a runner-up position. He once again made history at the 2015 BWF World Championships held in Jakarta. He became the first Japanese player to win a medal in the men's singles event of the prestigious tournament. He made it to the semi-finals before losing to Chen Long in straight games. Rounding off the year, he won the 2015 BWF World Superseries Finals in Dubai. He also competed at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, as well as the 2016 Badminton Asia Team Championships in Hyderabad, India.

Momota returned to the Japanese national team at the end of 2017. However, due to insufficient ranking points, he did not qualify to play in the 2018 All England Open, a significant Super 1000 tournament held in March. On 28 April, he won the 2018 Asian Championships held in Wuhan, defeating Chen Long of China in the final, 21–17, 21–13.

On 5 August, he won the World Championships title in Nanjing, China, beating Shi Yuqi from China in the final, 21–11, 21–13. He also won 4 BWF World Tour titles: Indonesia Open, Japan Open, Denmark Open and Fuzhou China Open. Momota became the first Japanese men's singles player to reach World number 1 in the BWF World rankings on 27 September 2018.

Momota started the 2019 season by competing at the Malaysia Masters as the first seed, but his run was stopped by Kenta Nishimoto in the first round. He then reached the final of the Indonesia Masters but lost to Anders Antonsen of Denmark. Momota claimed his first title in 2019 by winning the German Open, a Super 300 tournament. In March 2019, he won the All England Open, beating Viktor Axelsen from Denmark in the final in 3 games (21–11, 15–21, 21–15), becoming the first Japanese man to win the All England Open title.

In April, Momota won his second Asian Championships title in Wuhan, China, beating home favorite Shi Yuqi in three games: 12–21, 21–18, 21–8. He also won the Singapore and Japan Open titles. In August, he reclaimed his World Champion title, beating Anders Antonsen 21–9 and 21–3. In doing so, Momota became only the fourth player to win back-to-back titles, joining a short, all-Chinese list that includes Yang Yang, Lin Dan and Chen Long. After that, he won his first title at the China Open and Korea Open, also defending his titles at the Denmark Open and Fuzhou China Open.

Momota closed his stellar 2019 year by winning his 11th title, the World Tour Finals, beating Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 17–21, 21–17, 21–14. Previously, at the gala dinner of the same event, he was awarded BWF Best Male Player of the Year. He was also nominated as Best Male Athlete by the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive.

Momota began the 2020 season as the men's singles world number 1. He competed at the Malaysia Masters as the first seed, defeating Indian's Kashyap Parupalli and H. S. Prannoy in the first and second round in straight games, later beating Huang Yuxiang in the quarter-finals in three games. In the semi-final, he dashed the host nation's hopes by defeating Lee Zii Jia 21–10, 21–19. Despite not being at his physical best, Momota pulled off a good performance to beat the 2017 World Champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 24–22, 21–11 in the final. He extended his head-to-head record over Axelsen to 14–1. After winning the Malaysia Masters, Momota was involved in a serious highway accident while en route to the airport; the driver of the vehicle was killed. He was initially reported to have suffered a broken nose and injuries to his lips and face. However, the Nippon Badminton Association later confirmed that he did not sustain any bone fractures.

In January, Momota tested positive for COVID-19 prior to travelling to Bangkok. As a result, the entire Japanese team withdrew from the three tournaments scheduled to occur that month in Thailand: the Yonex Thailand Open, Toyota Thailand Open, and World Tour Finals. In March, Momota made a comeback to international competition from injury at the All England Open. Seeded first, he was beaten by Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the quarter-finals in straight games.

During 2020 Summer Olympics, again playing as the top seed, Momota was knocked out in the group stage after losing to the unseeded South Korean Heo Kwang-hee. In September–October, Momota, alongside the Japanese team, competed at the Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, Finland. He helped the team reach the final, but Japan was defeated by China 1–3. At the Thomas Cup in Aarhus, Denmark, Momota alongside Japanese team, won the bronze medal. The team was defeated by China in the semi-finals with a score of 1–3.

In October, he took part in the Denmark Open and finished in 2nd place to Viktor Axelsen in three games (22–20, 18–21, 12–21), in a match lasting an hour and thirty-three minutes.

In November, Momota won his first title since his injury, the Indonesia Masters, defeating Anders Antonsen in straight games (21–17, 21–11) in a seemingly one-sided final.

Momota had a rough start to the 2022 season. Post-injury recovery, besides slipping to number 2 in the world rankings, he did not perform up to his pre-injury level. In the opening season, he participated in three tournaments: the All England Open, German Open and the Asia Championships. In the All England Open, he was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Malaysian Lee Zii Jia with score 7–21, 21–13, 11–21. In the German Open, he was knocked out in the first round by his Japanese compatriot Kenta Nishimoto, 21–23, 9–21. At the Asia Championships, he was defeated in the first round by Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in three games: 21–17, 17–21, 7–21.

In the first round of the Thailand Open, he was eliminated by Zhao Junpeng, 8–21, 11–21.

At the first round of the Indonesia Open, he was knocked out in the first round by the 13th-ranked Rasmus Gemke from Denmark, 19–21, 21–19, 14–21. After the match, Momota stated that he was "disappointed" because he made so many mistakes and that he "would do much more practice to get a better result for the next tournament".

At the Malaysia Open, Momota made it through to his first final since winning the 2021 Indonesia Masters Super 750 event in November. He received 2 walkovers: one against Kantaphon Wangcharoen and another when his opponent, Shesar Hiren Rhustavito, retired mid-match due to injury. In the final, Momota was beaten quickly by Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, losing 4–21, 7–21 in just 34 minutes. After the match, Momota told reporters that Axelsen's "level" was higher than he expected, and that despite the loss, he was "very happy to be back here after all the difficult times" he had been through, adding that he "might be getting closer to the answer" he was looking for.

In the following week, Momota lost in the round of 16 at the Malaysia Masters to compatriot Kanta Tsuneyama, 16–21, 15–21, in a match lasting 50 minutes.

In late August, playing in his home country, Momota took part in the World Championships as the 2nd seed. He was upset by the unseeded Prannoy H. S. in the round of 32, losing 17–21, 16–21 in straight games.

On the 18th April, Momota announced his retirement from the Japanese national team, with the 2024 Thomas Cup being his last international tournament, finishing off his career with 3 wins.