Momota helps his badminton club clinch first title in nine years

Kento Momota was all smiles after recovering from a back injury and playing a crucial part to help his local team win their first title in nine years.

Momota won two of his matches to help NTT East Japan win the All Japan Corporate Team Championships for the first time in almost a decade recently.

But more importantly, the two-time world champion was happy to be back on court after missing out at the Thailand and Singapore Open through the back injury sustained in training.

It happened after he featured at the Malaysia Masters, where he crashed out in the first round.

The former world number one did return to BWF World Tour action at the Indonesia Open, but he was not fully fit and suffered another first-round defeat.

Helping NTT East Japan clinch the title and having a medal around his neck nonetheless gave him a reason to smile again.

“There is no point in thinking negatively anymore. I’m just trying to have fun in matches. The back pain was so severe that I felt discomfort when sitting for long periods or walking for more than 10 minutes.

“It was really tough as I wanted to play badly, but my back was constantly stiff,” Momota told JSports.

To compound matters, missing out in Thailand and Singapore coupled with early exits in Malaysia and Indonesia meant he fell to 34th on the world rankings.

But his comeback trail looks well on course, with the 28-year-old now preparing for next week's Canada Open, followed by the Korea Open (July 18-23).

The Japan Open takes place a week after, and Momota hoped to not just play but excel at his home event that he won twice.

“I want to play there with full determination,” adds Momota, who previously created a world record of 11 men’s singles titles in a season.