On May 2, Beijing time, with the Japanese team in the Thomas Cup 1/4 finals, the big score of 1-3 lost to the Malaysian team to stop the quarterfinals, and Momota Kento, who was arranged to play in the fifth game, unfortunately missed the game. Momota has officially retired from the international arena, having won two World Championships in the past and 11 titles in a single season.
Soup Cup 1/4 Finals: Japan 1-3 Malaysia
Kenta Nishimoto 13-21, 3-21 Li Zijia
Translated by Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi 18-21, 21-14, 21-19 Xie Dingfeng/Su Wei
Watanabe 13-21, 10-21 Liang Junhao
Teru Koga/Taichi Saito 21-18, 15-21, 12-21 Wu Shifei/Izudin
Momota helped Japan win the Thomas Cup in 2014. However, Momota's peak was not in 2014, but after the Rio Olympics, he once won the men's singles championship at the World Championships in 2018 and 2019, becoming the first player since Lin Dan to win the men's singles championship at the World Championships.
Momota also won 11 titles in a single season, breaking the record of 10 crowns in a single season held by Lee Chong Wei and setting the first record in the history of badminton.
However, due to injuries, age and off-field accidents, Momota's form plummeted and he was no longer competitive, resulting in repeated defeats on the international stage. Before the Thomas Cup, Kento Momota announced that after this soup cup, he officially withdrew from the Japanese national team and officially bid farewell to the international arena, and now he is also officially saying goodbye.