World No. 1 Momota cruises into quarterfinals at Badminton All England Open

LONDON - World No 1 Kento Momota stayed on the winning track by seeing off Prannoy H. S. 21-15, 21-14 to reach the quarterfinals at the Badminton All England Open on Thursday.

Momota, 26, took part in his first tournament in 13 months in Birmingham after suffering a car crash in January, 2020 and then being forced to withdraw from the events in Thailand earlier this year due to a positive test for COVID-19.

The Japanese ace said he was satisfied with his performance and believed he has tried his best. "He was a very tough player but I assess my play as good today."

As the reigning world champion and 2019 All England Open winner, Momota was regarded as the hot favorite to win this event as well as the postponed Olympic Games in Tokyo.

"I have no pressure particularly. I played my own game and I'll continue to play my own game for the rest of the tournament," said Momota.

Defending champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark came from behind to beat Indian Sai Pranneth 15-21, 21-12, 21-12.

"I feel slightly better than yesterday," said the second seed who also fought back to win in the opening round on Wednesday. "I don't feel I played the most beautiful badminton of my career today but a win is a win and I'm really happy I managed to get through today."

Several teams such as China and South Korea skipped the competition due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, Indonesian players were forced to withdraw from the competition after the first round as several members of the team were required to self-isolate due to a passenger traveling on the same flight tested positive for COVID-19.

Turkey's Neslihan Yigit has also withdrawn from the event after winning her first-round match in the women's singles as she was on the same inbound flight from Turkey to the UK as the Indonesian team.