At that time, even Chinese fans recognized this view: Momota's dominance was not inferior to that of Lin Dan at his peak, and winning the Tokyo Olympics was a sure thing.

In the cycle of the Tokyo Olympics, Momota Kento has dominated the men's badminton singles for more than three years. He has been the world's number one for a long time and has defeated all the unbeatable players in the world. He often limits the scores of other top 10 players to less than 10 points in a single game. At that time, even Chinese fans recognized this view: Momota Kento's dominance was not inferior to Lin Dan at his peak, and winning the Tokyo Olympics was a sure thing.

However, on January 3, 2021, Momota Kento was diagnosed with new crown . At that time, the sequelae caused by the new crown were still relatively large. Sure enough, after recovering from the illness, his physical fitness dropped sharply, his crazy footsteps became sluggish, and his performance plummeted. At the Tokyo Olympics, he was eliminated in the group stage and has since gradually become a second-rate player. He is no longer the favorite to win in any event.

When he came to the Asian Championships, Momota Kento, who was still ranked second in the world, was not optimistic, but few people could have imagined that he fell in the first round. On April 27, in the first round of the Asian Championships, Kento Momota faced Indonesian player Ziko, ranked 52nd in the world, and was reversed 1-2. Among them, he was beaten 7-21 in the decisive game - the sequelae of the new crown really compressed his physical upper limit very low.

In this game, Momota Kento's performance in the first game was quite normal, winning 21-17. However, in the second half of the second game, it became clear that his physical fitness was approaching its limit, and his opponent tied the score 17-21. As long as it reached the decisive game, Momota Kento had almost no possibility of winning. Sure enough, he lost quickly 7-21 and handed over the victory of the entire game.

Such an ending is disappointing, but we must also applaud him for his persistence in the decisive game. I still remember last year's French Open, when he faced his teammate Kanta Tsuneyama in the semi-finals, he chose to retire halfway through the match. He panted and said: I'm too tired, I can't play anymore. For him, the impact of being infected with the new coronavirus is too great. It is no longer easy for him to insist on continuing to participate in the game.

Perhaps, at this point in time, after evaluating Momota Kento's physical condition, we can basically make a summary of his career. This badminton genius born in 1994, his sports career can be called a great tragedy:

He is Japan's first men's singles player to win the All England Championships, World Championships, and the world. The non-Chinese team players who won the World Championships. After rising to prominence in 2014, he was once considered the favorite to win the Rio Olympics. However, he was deprived of the qualification to compete in that Olympics by the Japanese delegation because of gambling.

From 2017 to 2019, he created his own prosperous era, and was praised as "there are no new four kings in the badminton world, it is clearly the world of Momota Kento". However, before the Olympics, he first had a car accident during the Malaysia competition in early 2020. After the Olympics were postponed, he was infected with the new crown in January 2021, which directly caused his condition to plummet. It was originally thought that his name would be engraved in advance. As a result, the men's singles gold medal fell by the wayside.

Now, his physical functions have been damaged and it is unlikely that he will return to his peak, leaving only the short and extremely brilliant era of 2017-2019. Of course, some fans who love him firmly believe that he still has the world's top level and is currently suffering from psychological problems. I am unconvinced about this.

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