Japan’s badminton world number one Kento Momota shrugged off nerves to make a winning return to competition in Tokyo Wednesday, nearly a year after suffering serious injuries in a car crash.
Momota beat Koshiro Moriguchi 21-12, 21-14 in the first round of the All-Japan championships, marking his return from the accident that left him fearing his career might be over after fracturing an eye socket.
Momota will be hoping his comeback leads him all the way to Olympic gold at next year’s coronavirus-postponed Tokyo Games, but the left-hander was happy just to be back on the court after dispatching his opponent in 36 minutes on Wednesday.
“I had that particular feeling that you g…
Keep on reading: World badminton number one Momota back from car crash with a win