Tokyo: Japan continues to place trust in former world no. 1 Kento Momota to lead their challenge at the 2024 Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC), which will be held from 13 to 18 February 2024 at Setia City Convention Centre, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
Japanese Head Coach Park Joo-bong stated that Momota was included in the lineup due to the increasing motivation of the 29-year-old player. Additionally, the championship is hoped to help improve Momota’s current world ranking, currently at 40.
Momota is currently undergoing a lengthy recovery process and has shown improvement after winning the Korea Masters last November.
“Momota is in this team because Kodai Naraoka suffered a last-minute injury, plus Momota’s chances of qualifying for the Olympics are quite slim, so he will focus on team events. This is because we plan for him to be in the Thomas Cup team later on,” said Park.
“Furthermore, this championship is expected to help improve his ranking. He is also on the reserve list for the French Open, but it is quite challenging (due to his ranking), so he can only participate in tournaments classified as Super 300 and below,” said Park when interviewed by the Malaysian media after his team tested the court on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Park Joo-bong also mentioned that his team’s initial goal is to reach the semi-finals in this edition.
“This championship is actually preparation for the Thomas and Uber Cups. This team is not the best. Kodai Naraoka and Yugo Kobayashi are not here (in the men’s team). As for the women, Akane Yamaguchi and Mayu Matsumoto are also not participating,” explained Park.
