It is all in the mind - On the sport. Be part of it

Kento Momota’s dominance over has rivals is likely to be his superior mental strength, especially after serving a year long suspension for his indiscretion in 2016.

Former national player Datuk James Selvaraj said that the Japanese ace was operating at different level from the others in the badminton circuit, with a much stronger mindset and attitude.

“If you had watched the match between him and Chen Long last night, you would have noticed how effortless his game was,” said James, who was the former Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) High Performance Director.

Momota eased to a 21-14, 21-12 win over former world champion Chen Long China in just 44 minutes to win the Denmark Open men’s singles title.

“He is able to switch his game to put the pressure on his rivals. At one point in the match Chen Long reeled off seven points in a row after being down 0-4. But Momota was still able to stop the rot quickly by making tactical changes,” added James.

James said that the suspension meted on the player has made him a much stronger player mentally.

“Just before he was suspended he was already showing that he had the game and capacity to win the world title,” said James.

Momota, had won the World Junior and Asian Junior titles in 2012, and was beginning to make his mark at the senior level.

Highlights | @momota_kento ?? shows Odense again why he is no.1 in an impenetrable display against Chen Long ?#HSBCBWFbadminton #HSBCRaceToGuangzhou pic.twitter.com/Gw0f08OHmQ
— BWF (@bwfmedia) October 20, 2019

While he honed his skills at the senior level by playing in the lower ranked International Challengers, he showed why he was one of the most exciting players by winning in Estonia, Sweden and Austria the following year.

The year 2014 was a revelation as he won all his matches playing second singles in Japan’s unprecedented Thomas Cup triumph. He further cemented his growing stature by winning the Singapore Open crown, the youngest player to achieve that.

The following year he again remained unbeaten as Japan finished runners-up at the Sudirman Cup and took the bronze at the World Championships. Ironically he had lost to the eventual champion Chen Long in the semi-finals.

But the shooting star was brought crashing down to earth by his poor judgement in visiting casinos. He and teammate Kenichi Tago were booted out of the national team and badminton after being found guilty of gambling at an illegal casino in Tokyo.

“I believe he had plenty to think about during the suspension. It must have triggered his deep desire to come back and do much better,” said James.

Momota came back from his suspension in mid-2017 and has since been a revelation.

“All top players have the skills sets for success at the international level. But Momota is able to keep his composure and play the right way to beat his opponents,” said James.

Within a year after making a return to competitive badminton, he defeated Chen Long for the 2018 Asian crown and followed it up with his maiden World Championships gold, beating another Chinese player, Shi Yuqi in the final.

To mark his return to the top for good, he also won the Indonesian Open, Japan Open, Denmark Open and China Open titles in 2018.

James added that Momota’s ability to draw in his opponents to the net and kill off the shuttle, especially with spins was remarkable.

“Players like Lin Dan and Chong Wei relied more on their speed and power. Momota is the only player on the circuit now, who is able to do this with deadly accuracy,” said James.

The 25-year-old has been the most dominant player this season. Apart from the Denmark Open and the World Championships, he had also won the Asian Championships, All England, Korean Open, China Open, Japan Open, Singapore Open and the German Open.

Find someone who looks at you like @momota_kento looks at his winning ? from the 2019 All England…

???#LegendsWillBegin pic.twitter.com/Tk7HIEZP1B
— Yonex All England (@YonexAllEngland) October 13, 2019

He was also a losing finalists to Dane Anders Antonsen at the Indonesian Masters.

“For me, his biggest weapon is his mind. After his suspension he has shown renewed determination and that has actually elevated his game even higher,” said James.

While his teammate Tago, despite the huge potential, drifted away from the game, Momota has not only redeemed himself, he has just started his reign.

Momota is the top seed for this week’s French Open and it would be very difficult for any of his opponent’s to stop his relentless march. He is seeded first ahead of Chou Tien Chen (Tpe), Yuqi, Antonsen, Chen Long, Jonathan Christie (Ina), Viktor Axelsen (Den) and Anthony Sinsuka Ginting (Ina) in Paris.

He will open accounts against Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tzu Wei in the first round.