TOKYO, Nov 4 – Two-time badminton world champion Kento Momota plans to retire at the end of Japan’s S/J League season next February, sources familiar with the matter said Sunday.
The 30-year-old from Kagawa Prefecture, who won the men’s singles at the world championships in 2018 and 2019, ended his national team career in May, Kyodo news agency reported.
In 2018, Momota also became the first Japanese man ever to reach the top of the world badminton rankings.
Momota’s career has also had darker moments, including his omission from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic team after being suspended for gambling at illegal casinos.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he was knocked out in the group stage.
The S/J League season opened Saturday.
