Badminton champion Kento Momota injured in crash in Malaysia

World number one badminton player Kento Momota was injured in an early morning accident in Malaysia on Monday. The shocking incident took place just hours after the player had secured his first victory of the season at the Malaysia Masters. The Japanese shuttler was traveling with three other passengers to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport when the van they were traveling in collided with a truck.

The van that was being driven by Bavan a/l Nageswarau collided with a lorry at Km13.7 of the Maju Expressway (Mex Highway) at Serdang, early today. The driver of the van was killed on the spot. The other van passengers were British badminton technical officer Foster William Thomas, 30; and Japanese physiotherapist Hirayama Yu, 35, and assistant coach Morimoto Arkifuki, 42.

Police said the Japanese star, 25, suffered a broken nose and cuts to his face. An assistant coach, physiotherapist, and badminton official also suffered minor injuries. They all were soon sent to Putrajaya Hospital for treatment.

Malaysian sports minister Syed Saddiq visited the injured in the hospital. In a media interaction, he told the reporters, “It’s truly tragic, especially involving a badminton icon like Momota. But all those hurt were “recovering well, and all four are also in stable condition”.

The fire department is still trying to extract the body of the driver from the wreckage.

On Sunday, Momota had defeated former world champion Viktor Axelsen to win the Malaysia Masters, the first tournament of the BWF 2020 World Tour season.

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