Badminton
WORLD NO. 1 BADMINTON PLAYER, KENTO MOMOTA IN CAR CRASH
Badminton world No. 1 Kento Momota has been injured in a car accident in Malaysia, with the driver of the vehicle killed in the crash early this Monday January 13.
The pre-dawn vehicle collision took place along the Maju Expressway early Monday morning, just hours after he secured his first victory of the season at the Malaysia Masters.
The Japanese shuttler was with three other players en route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport when the hired van they were in rammed into the rear of a 30-tonne truck, the local fire and rescue department said in a brief statement.
Pictures showed the front of the van crushed against a lorry but the back section appeared intact.
The driver of the van, named as N. Bavan, was killed in the accident. The fire and rescue department said it was still working to extricate the driver’s body from the wreckage.
Momota and the others – named as the Japanese player’s compatriots Yu Hirayama, Morimoto Arkifuki and Englishman William Thomas by official news agency Bernama – suffered slight injuries, the department said.
Malaysian daily The Star said Hirayama, 35, and Morimoto, 42, are part of the Japanese coaching team while Thomas is a Badminton World Federation (BWF) court official.
The vehicle crashed into the back of a lorry, which was travelling slowly,
Bernama reported.
“The victim’s body and all the injured” were sent to hospital in the administrative capital Putrajaya, fire and rescue department senior official Norazam Khamis was cited as saying.
The injured “were able to walk out of the van by themselves with some scratches”, he added.
The survivors were reportedly in a stable condition, according to a statement from Serdang police. This was confirmed by Malaysian Tan Kim Her, who is the men’s doubles coach for the Japanese national team.
“They are in stable condition but are currently under observation for another six to seven hours to see if they are okay,” The Star quoted him as saying.
“It’s truly tragic, especially involving a badminton icon like Momota,” Malaysian sports minister Syed Saddiq told reporters after visiting the injured in hospital.
But he added those hurt were “recovering well, (and) all four are also in stable condition”.
The others hurt suffered facial, leg, hand and head injuries, according to the police.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia said in a statement it was “saddened” by what happened.
The incident has cast a pall over Momota’s celebrations after he had captured the Malaysia Masters title with ease on Sunday, when he beat Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen 24-22, 21-11.
It remains to be seen if the accident will affect his preparations for the upcoming Olympics, where he is bidding to win a first gold at his home Games – the only major individual title to elude him so far.
The reigning world champion had told reporters that he was eyeing more success in 2020 after Sunday’s victory.
Momota, currently the best player on the planet, enjoyed a stellar 2019, winning 11 titles including the World Championships, Asia Championships and All England Open.
“My condition was not perfect coming into this tournament, but I was focused on this week and was able to play calmly,” said the Japanese star, who pocketed US$30,000 (S$40,500).
“I do not think I am the strongest, but I am sharp and confident especially after winning the World Tour Finals last year. I know when to focus on attack and defence.”
-AFP/Reuters
Badminton
Badminton chieftain, Orbih dreams of ‘born-again’ Lagos International Badminton Classic
BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
The Lagos International Badminton Classics may from the next edition step up to the next level with a reinvigorated government-private partnership initiative.
President of the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) Francis Orbih believes that the governments at all levels cannot fund sports alone and if sports need to develop the private sector also has a role to play in its development in the country.
Orbih made the call on Saturday while addressing newsmen during the closing ceremony of the 7th edition of the Lagos Badminton Classics which took place at the Sir Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall inside the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Lagos.
“Nigeria players need more encouragement and support because you know it will be difficult for most of these players to travel out for this kind of championships.
“And that is why we try to make this event an annual event so that they can have that opportunity to play the game at this level” Orbih hinted.
“They need the exposure because without it, there is a limit to what you can do so we have to challenge them, and to whom much is given, much is expected, and it is the much we can give to them that determines the much we expect from them”.
“In giving this much, we need the private sector for sports to grow and develop because the government cannot do it alone” Orbih emphasized.
On the just concluded 7th edition of the tournament Orbih noted that the championship has lived up to his expectations even though the Federation can do better, and one practice which they have adopted is to surpass the performance of the previous edition while hosting a current edition.
He further added that Nigeria had a good outing as we reached some semifinals in some categories while the mixed doubles reached the finals.
“For the men’s singles, our number one player was edged out in the quarterfinal, and it was at this same level in last year’s edition that he was edged out”. “We thought he would have improved this year and reach the final but that was not possible but I am expecting that we will improve on his performance in the next edition” an optimistic Orbih added
Orbih did not fail to remind all that Opeyori’s rise to stardom in Nigeria and Africa as whole was a journey that started so many years ago and so much need to be done if the younger ones have to rise to his level in the future.
“A lot of people who see Opeyori today think he just got to this level over night”. “They do not know what he has gone through to become Africa’s number one. We as a federation need to go back to the age-grade tournament at the U12, U15 and U17 level so we can start preparing them with lots of exposure to attain his level”. “There is no magic and there is no short cut and if we need to get more players like Opeyori, we need to invest more at the age-grade level and that is it”.
He also did not fail to state that Opeyori started the Lagos Badminton Classics from its first edition in 2014 and it was his exposure over the years through the event and other championships that gave him the experience needed which made him qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
On India’s domination of the Lagos Badminton Classics, Orbih noted that India is a powerhouse as far as badminton is concerned and it is because this tournament has a lot of world ranking players that makes it good for Nigerian players to take part in it so that they can also acquire exposure too.
Badminton
It’s Indian delight at Lagos International Badminton Classic
BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
The Indians are having a swell time at the Lagos International Badminton Classic.
Not only did an Indian player, Samarveer responsible for Nigeria’s Anuoluwapo Opeyori’s ouster at the quarter-finals, the Indians have won the mixed doubles beating a Nigerian pair.
They were delighted at the relative ease of their accomplishment.
The duo of Kanapuram Sathwik Reddy and Khadkekarr Vaishnavi expressed their shock on how easy it was for them to beat Nigeria’s duo of Shehu, Alhaji Aliyu and Ukeh, Uchechukwu Deborah in the finals of the mixed doubles on home ground.
The game which was played on court two of the Sir Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall on Saturday, saw the Indians record two straight wins against Nigeria to win 2-0 (21-12,21-14).
Speaking after the win, both players who were overjoyed about their wins expressed themselves.
“It’s my first time of playing in Nigeria” Reddy started “And am glad this game ended very well, we are happy to win and we never expected it would come this easy”
“When we reached the final and were going to play Nigeria we thought it was going to be very tough because of the home crowd, but it was not” he said.
Adding her voice a delighted Vaishnavi also appreciated the warm reception given by the host country in organizing the tournament.
“I am happy with the environment and reception here, the atmosphere is peaceful and the people are very nice, we feel very happy winning” she concluded.
The Indians who have dominated the finals of the doubles in previous editions edged Nigeria’s side to win the mixed doubles.
It will also be recalled that Nigeria’s duo of Shehu Alhaji Aliyu and Ukeh, Uchechukwu Deborah reached the finals of this edition without lifting their racket, as they walked over their French opponents who were ruled out due to arm injury.
Badminton
India Stops Nigeria From Reaching Final of Women’s Doubles
BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
Nigeria’s duo of Dorcas Ajoke and Ilori Aminat on Friday failed to reach the final of the women’s doubles of the Lagos Badminton Classic at the Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.
The duo suffered two straight defeats at the hands of India’s Singhi Simran and Selvan Kavipriya who defied the slim efforts made by the home fans to cheer the Nigerian sides to victory.
The game which was played on court 2 was however slightly disrupted by power supply barely five minutes of play but that did not stop the Asian side from getting the job done when power was restored.
In a later development, Nigeria’s duo of Shehu Alhaji Aliyu and Ukeh Uchechukwu Deborah also reached the final of the mixed doubles without lifting their rackets.
The duo benefited from a walk over which took them to the final after their French opponents of Maio Julien and Palermo Lea were ruled out due to arm injury.
The championship comes to a close this Saturday.
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Players boycott Libyan national team
-
AFCON5 days ago
Billiat’s penalty seals Zimbabwe’s 1-0 win over Namibia
-
AFCON1 week ago
Eguavoen unfolds Super Eagles’ squad for back-to-back duel with Libya
-
AFCON7 days ago
Facts & Figures as AFCON 2025 qualifiers enter Matchday 3
-
AFCON6 days ago
AFCON 2025 in Morocco: Everything you need to know
-
AFCON5 days ago
Libya’s captain, Faisal Al-Badri alleges poor treatment in Nigeria
-
Uncategorized7 days ago
CAF compels Kwasi Appiah to step down from Ghana FA
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Fastest World Cup final scorer is dead!