At the beginning of 2021, the world sports world is once again shrouded in the shadow of the new coronavirus pneumonia. On the evening of the 3rd, Beijing time, according to Japanese media reports, Kento Momota, currently ranked No. 1 in the world in badminton men’s singles, was

At the beginning of 2021, the world sports world is once again shrouded in the shadow of the new coronavirus pneumonia. On the evening of the 3rd, Beijing time, according to Japanese media reports, Kento Momota, currently ranked No. 1 in the world in badminton men’s singles, was determined to be positive for the new coronavirus after being tested at Narita Airport for an overseas match with the team. This result also led to The Japanese badminton team has decided to withdraw from the International Badminton Federation Thailand Open and World Badminton Federation Finals, which will start on the 12th.

Screenshots from Japanese media reports

The Japanese badminton team originally planned to fly to Bangkok, Thailand, on the 3rd local time to prepare for the competition, but the entire team was stopped after undergoing nucleic acid testing at Narita Airport. First, it was reported that someone in the team had tested positive for nucleic acid, and then the big news came out. The person who tested positive for nucleic acid was actually the most famous player in the team, Kento Momota.

Momota Kento is the favorite to win the badminton men's singles event at this year's Tokyo Olympics. Last year, he set an unprecedented record of 11 championships in a season. During New Year's Day, he followed the custom of his hometown and wrote two lines on the wishing card: "Beat yourself and win the gold medal." However, just two days later, he was tested positive for the new coronavirus.

At present, Momota Kento has not shown obvious symptoms, but it is not yet known whether other Japanese players have been infected. Just the night before this test, Momota Kento had just gathered with other contestants at the Japan National Training Center. For the safety of the team and the event, the Japanese team subsequently announced the cancellation of all athletes’ trip to Thailand.

Momota on New Year's Day (picture from Momota's Twitter)

The 26-year-old Momota Kento defeated Kanta Tsuneyama in the just-concluded Japan National Badminton Championships and won the men's singles championship, achieving three consecutive men's singles championships. This is also the first time he has returned to the competition after being injured in a car accident in Malaysia in January 2020. This victory is undoubtedly a huge encouragement to him. The diagnosis of the new coronavirus at this time will undoubtedly have a big impact on Momota Kento's Olympic journey.

Momota Kento, who is the absolute main force of the Japanese badminton team, was infected with the new coronavirus, which once again highlights the seriousness of Japan’s current epidemic prevention situation. Since the beginning of winter, Japan has been hit by a new wave of epidemics, and the epidemic in the capital area centered on Tokyo is particularly severe.

According to statistics, it took about 33 days for the cumulative number of confirmed cases in Japan to increase from 100,000 to 150,000, about 20 days to increase from 150,000 to 200,000, and only 12 days to increase from 200,000 to 240,000. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has joined forces with neighboring Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures, which are more seriously affected by the epidemic, to request the Japanese government to declare a state of emergency again as soon as possible.

html On the 3rd, there were 816 new cases of COVID-19 in Tokyo.

The Japanese badminton team finally had no choice but to withdraw from the Thailand Open, casting a shadow over the Thailand series, which was regarded by the International Badminton Federation as a sign of restart.

html Earlier on the 3rd, the Malaysian Badminton Association issued a statement stating that because the Malaysian national badminton team coaching director Huang Zhonghan tested positive for the new coronavirus, it was determined that he would not be able to lead the team to the upcoming Thailand Open in Bangkok.

Prior to this, the Chinese badminton team, which was originally going to compete with its full force, has issued a statement saying that in view of the recent recurrence of the epidemic and for the health of athletes and coaches, it has decided to withdraw from the three-station International Badminton Federation series held in Thailand. He will stay in China to continue training and prepare for war.

Industry insiders analyzed that with the arrival of winter, the epidemic situation has once again become severe. During this period, restarting international sports events will undoubtedly face huge risks. At this stage, the restart plan of world sports events needs to be more cautious and detailed.

Author: Workers Daily Client Workers Daily Reporters Li Yuanhao Liu Bing

Source: Workers Daily