Tokyo: The Nippon Badminton Association held an online press conference on Monday, and both the head coach of the Japanese national team – Park Joo Bong and the World No. 1 men’s singles player – Kento Momota were confident about winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
It’s only 31 days to go before the long-delayed 2020 Summer Olympics is expected to get underway in Tokyo. The badminton events are scheduled to take place at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza, from 24, July 2021 to 2 August 2021.
“This is my first time playing in the Olympics, but I have good experience of winning big tournaments. I know I have a chance of winning a gold medal in the Olympics,” said Momota.
Speaking about his performance at the 2021 All England, Momota was disappointed but not deterred by the quarter-final loss.
“I had a break of more than a year and could only give 70% performance at the All England, but the loss actually motivated me to work harder. I really gave my best in the training camp after that,” explained Momota.
Momota who missed out on the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics after being suspended by the Nippon Badminton Association for gambling at an illegal casino in Tokyo, seemed to have improved his physical and mental strength by a lot ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
“I couldn’t participate in the Rio Olympics. I’ll do my best to win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics,” added Momota.
The 26-year-old fractured his right eye socket and sustained multiple lacerations to his face as he was involved in a fatal car accident on Jan. 13, 2020, in Malaysia. He had to undergo surgery to repair his right eye socket injury in February of 2020.
When asked about the player who grew the most in the last five years, Park Joo Bong answered: “It’s Momota.”
“I think there will be pressure on the athletes because it is the Olympics, but I hope we can achieve better results than the Rio Olympics (1 gold, 1 bronze),” said Park.
Park also provided his view in regards to how the Japanese government and the Games Organizing Committee were trying to hold the event with spectators while minimizing the exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Of course, the support of Japanese fans will definitely be a plus. At this gymnasium (Musashino Forest Sports Plaza), players who receive strong support from the crowd are more likely to achieve good results. We will be really happy as a team if the fans are allowed to enter the stadium to watch the tournament,” said Park.
Meanwhile, the secretary-general of the Nippon Badminton Association – Kinji Zeniya, 68, encouraged the Japanese players to give their best in the Olympics.
“We were not able to compete in many tournaments since last year, because almost all international tournaments were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, our opponents were facing the same situation as well. Therefore, I want the players to play their best performance at home,” said Zeniya.
Below are players who will represent Japan at the Tokyo Olympics.
Men’s Singles:
1. Kento Momota
2. Kanta Tsuneyama
Women’s Singles:
1. Nozomi Okuhara
2. Akane Yamaguchi
Men’s Doubles
1. Hiroyuki Endo/Yuta Watanabe
2. Keigo Sonoda/Takeshi Kamura
Women’s Doubles
1. Yuki Fukushima/Ayaka Hirota
2. Wakana Nagahara/Mayu Matsumoto
Mixed doubles
1. Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino
