Tokyo: World No. 1 Kento Momota was down in the first set but he was not out against Hashiru Shimono before staging a comeback that kept him alive for a third All-Japan title when he beat Shimono 13-21, 21-10, 21-9 in the quarter-final of All-Japan championships.
It was a rainy Christmas Day in Tokyo, Japan on Friday. His opponent started the first game with an aggressive play by taking over the competition completely.
“He was in control since the beginning, my anxiety grew and I started to feel frustrated. But I told myself I have to overcome my sluggishness,” Momota lost the first game with an 8 point difference.
Momota found his rhythm in the second set by taking the lead with 3-0 and went on dominating the game by forcing a decider.
“I cut down my mistakes, and I felt more comfortable on the court in the second game,” added Momota.
Momota’s stroke becomes even more stable in the decider, as he continued to score points with cross-court smashes. Although Shimono put up great resistance against Momota, he had no answer to Momota’s smashes and Momota took the match in 55 minutes.
In the semi-finals on the 26th, he will face Yuushi Tanaka of Nihon University.
