Tokyo (AFP)
The world badminton N.1, the Japanese Kento Momota, assured Friday that he was completely recovered from the car accident which could have compromised his participation in the Tokyo Olympics.
"I am able to be 100% in training," he said.
"I want to do my best every day to reach my goal," to become the first Japanese Olympic badminton champion, said Momota.
The 25-year-old Japanese man was injured in the face and had to undergo surgery on the floor of the eye socket after a car accident in Malaysia the day after his victory in the Kuala Lumpur Masters in January.
On his way to the airport to return to Japan, accompanied by two members of the Japanese management team and an official, their car struck a truck, causing the death of their driver.
Momota, double world champion in singles (2018, 2019), admitted that he had paradoxically had a hard time postponing the one year postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, from 2020 to 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"After my operation, I had six months to perform again, I could not relax (...) It was difficult not to have this state of mind anymore," he explained.
The Tokyo Games will be his first since he missed the Rio meeting in 2016 after being suspended by the Japanese federation for going to an underground casino.
© 2020 AFP