- Thiago, Matip to leave Liverpool at end of season
- Israel says S.Africa 'genocide' case at UN court 'totally divorced' from facts
- Gaza fighting rages after Israel vows to intensify Rafah offensive
- Hong Kong, Shanghai stand out in Asia on China property support
- IEA warns of key energy mineral shortage risk
- Israel says S.Africa 'genocide' case 'totally divorced' from facts
- Defender Matip to leave Liverpool at end of season
- Musk confirms Twitter has become X.com
- Gomes eyes becoming first Portuguese coach to win CAF Cup
- Crisis-ridden Boeing prepares for turbulence at annual meeting
- Hong Kong, Shanghai stand out in Asia after China property move
- Coppola faces press after epic 'Megalopolis' splits Cannes
- China offers to buy up commercial housing to boost property market
- US military says first aid delivered to Gaza via temporary pier
- Muslim professionals quit 'hostile' France in silent brain drain
- China cuts rates, could buy up commercial housing to boost property market
- Costner, Gere, Demi Moore: Hollywood icons on Cannes comeback trail
- Brazil to host 2027 Women's World Cup as Gaza overshadows FIFA meeting
- Palestinians call for Israeli ban as Gaza war spills into football
- Crisis-ridden Boeing hopes for quiet annual meeting
- Vienna Festival director Milo Rau hits back at anti-Semitism accusations
- China says could buy up commercial housing to boost property market
- Rapidus 'last opportunity' to put Japan back on global chip map
- Despite Western pressure, China in no hurry to reduce Russia support
- For sale: unique piece of land in strategic Arctic archipelago
- La Rochelle in the spotlight as tight Top 14 run-in commences
- Three key issues to watch for in La Liga this weekend
- Departing Hayes urges Chelsea to seize 'second chance' in WSL race
- Leverkusen eye 'immortality' as Union fight for final day survival
- Klopp leaves lasting legacy after restoring Liverpool to elite
- Putin in trade push on final day of China trip
- Timberwolves crush Nuggets to stay alive in NBA playoffs
- Taiwan president takes office under close scrutiny
- Israel to hit back at 'genocide' claims at UN top court
- Chinese officials meet to mull support for developers: Bloomberg
- 'Hindu nation': Religion trumps caste in India vote
- Asian stocks mixed after Wall St, Europe retreat from records
- Taiwan's Lai to bolster 'porcupine' defence against China threat
- Dominican Republic to vote in poll dominated by Haiti crisis
- The Dominican Republic: from Columbus to cruise ships
- Forced to give birth after rape, Honduran woman seeks UN remedy
- Reddit gives OpenAI access to its wealth of posts
- Turkey court jails Kurdish leader for 42 years over 2014 unrest
- US plans to end leasing in its largest coal-producing region
- Kim's sister denies N. Korea exporting weapons to Russia
- Schauffele equals record-low major round with 62 to lead PGA
- Alternate Lee seizes opportunity to grab LPGA Americas Open lead
- Swiatek to face Sabalenka for Rome title and Serena record
- Mystik Dan goes for Triple Crown 2nd leg in Preakness
- 'Grand Theft Auto VI' release set for late 2025
Former badminton ace Momota bows out of international competition
Two-time world champion Kento Momota bowed out of international badminton on Thursday without hitting a shuttlecock, after his Japan side lost to Malaysia in the Thomas and Uber Cup quarter-finals in China's Chengdu.
Momota, aged 29, was once badminton's undisputed king, winning 11 titles in 2019 and losing just six of the 73 matches he played that year.
But in January 2020 the vehicle taking him to Kuala Lumpur airport crashed hours after he won the Malaysia Masters, and he has admitted he has never been the same since.
The driver was killed and Momota needed surgery to repair a fractured eye socket.
When he returned after a year out Momota suffered double vision and failed to regain the scintillating form that had taken him to world number one, although he did win two more titles.
Now ranked 52 and having missed out on a place at the Paris Olympics, he said last month he would retire from Japan's national team after playing at the Thomas and Uber Cup.
- Low-key exit -
Momota's Japanese men's team lost 3-1 to Malaysia in Chengdu on Thursday in a tense best-of-five tie.
That meant the former superstar -- scheduled to play in the fifth and final match -- did not even set foot on court.
In the first match of the tie, Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia comfortably defeated Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 21-13, 21-3, before doubles pair Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi beat Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik 18-21, 21-14, 21-19 to level the contest.
Leong Jun Hao saw off Koki Watanabe 21-13, 21-10 to put Malaysia in front, leaving doubles pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin to clinch their match and the tie by downing Japanese duo Akira Koga and Taichi Saito, triggering wild on-court celebrations.
It was a low-key exit to international competition for Momota.
Following his team's defeat in Chengdu, he will now play only in domestic competitions in Japan and not on badminton's World Tour.
Momota had targeted this summer's Paris Olympics but his national ranking was not good enough to earn him a spot in Japan's team.
He was banned from selection for the 2016 Rio Olympics for gambling at an illegal casino.
He lost in the opening round of the Tokyo Games in 2021 in a huge shock which he described as "nothing but a frustrating memory".
"I don't think I was fully prepared for it but I had dreamed of playing at the Olympics for a long time so in that sense it was a good experience," he said last month.
S.Keller--BTB