The man of steel: Kento Momota wins the world tour final
Kento Momota, the two time World Champion and the winner of 11 titles in 2019, proves to be #1 in the world and wins his world tour title.
It was a dramatic battle between the Japanese star and his most principal rival, Anthony Ginting.
This final will be recorded to the book of badminton’s history as one of the brightest rules in the sports, which calls “never give up”.
Being 11:5 down in the third game, Kento Momota managed to level up the game at 13:13 and took another 9 rallies of 10 played to close the game 21:14. What a character, what a confidence! This man is made of steel!
Anthony Ginting played a really great match this day.
His spinning drops on the net and following smashes after Momota’s lifts cause several problems for world #1. Ginting’s accuracy of shots was really tremendous this day. It was clearly seen how often Kento Momota struggled during his “guesswork” on the court.
What is also interesting, is the tactics, which Kento has decided to follow in the first game.
Knowing the fact that Anthony Ginting straggles physically when the match gets into 3 games battle, Kento usually tries to play a less aggressive game at the beginning.
But, this time he has chosen to be more aggressive and went to powerful smashes form the very start. This tactic did not bring too much to Kento. Both players played an attacking style and it was 17 all when Ginting made a spurt and closed the first game 21:17. Honestly saying, it seemed to me that Kento just lost the concentration when he leveled the score.
The second game also had an intrigue. Kento was 9:5 ahead when Anthony Ginting decided to make another spurt and took 6 points in a raw. 11:9 and Momota’s fans had a reason to be worried… But, Anthony has not found resources, both mental and physical to go the extra mile and to keep his advantage. Kento Momota controlled the second half of the game and close it with the same score and Anthony did in the first game, 21:17.
What has happened in the third game, proves the greatness of Kento Momota. Everyone else would though in the towel when the score was 11:5 before the break. Personally, it was the case when I also doubt and thought that this day Kento would not be able to make another come back.
Read about another astonishing come back of Kento Momota at Singapore Open!
But, Kento is made of steel! He was like a boa… extra accuracy, extra precision and desire to win. Anthony had nothing to do with that and it’s obvious that if he thinks of becoming an Olympic Champion in 2020, he has to work with his phycology…
Kento wins his 12th title in 2019 and becomes the greatest men’s singles player of all time!
By Max Sydorenko,
Special for “This Is Badminton” Blog
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