Because Shi Yuqi improved his stamina and was keeping up his speed and furious attacking play in the third set, where most of Momota's opponents are out of breath. My 2 cents.
SYQ had more rest and less matches than KM prior to their battle, so when he went berserk and turned on the turbo in G2 and G3, KM couldn't keep up. Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
You mean opponents like SYQ not even a month before that? He must have discovered some groundbreaking stamina exercises that had eluded him so far in his career, to turn it around like that in a couple of weeks.
I think he just learned from his mistake during the BAC finals though, where he went a bit too crazy on the attack in G1, and then lost all this energy in G2 and G3. This time he finally learned to pace himself properly and kinda "out-stamina" KM I guess. Looking forward to their next meeting though, and see who will come up on top again! Sent from my G8141 using Tapatalk
Momota's three game victory statistic speaks for itself. He follows the same game plan as Chen Long, with even less attacking than young Chen Long. He basically returns everything with good quality without going for the attack unless there's a huge chance to end the rally, which not only costs less energy than attacking yourself, but also drains his opponents' energy. Maybe Shi Yuqi didn't improve his stamina, but was able to use it more economically or wisely. Pardon my wording from my original post. True, Shi Yuqi was well rested and fitter because Momota had more matches and less time for recovery. Still, my point stands, the formula to beat Momota is furious attacking play and incredible stamina to sustain it even in the third set.
I think some on here are overthinking it. How about human error? Is it not possible that Momota-san miscalculated his game-plan after winning the first game relatively comfortably? Is it beyond the realm of possibility that Kento (like Antony Joshua before last night's bout v Ruiz Jnr) mentally relegated Shi Yuqi to the status of loser prematurely with the contest still not fought to completion? One lives and one learns and hopefully, Momota-san will have done so too.
In a major competition where Japan is 0-2 down against China in the final against a former world No. 1 and current No. 2? I don't think so. Bad day, yes. Fatigued, yes. Mental pressure, sure. But not this.
Momota himself puts it down to the following factors: - The competitiveness and ability of Chinese players (as a whole) to concentrate at critical moments. - Already being 0-2 down before his match, with the concomitant pressure to perform. - His stamina: He injected a lot of pace into G1 in the hope of being able to turn the tournament around, and ran out of energy in G2 and G3. - The scheduling - The fact that his game is being closely scrutinised. Incidentally, Momota intends to change his game style to incorporate more attacking shots. He realises he needs to constantly tweak at his style to prevent other players from reading it too well.
Shi Yuqi is just THAT good in the final of Sudiman Cup, in addition to a quick tactic change. Kento Momota buckles under the pressure and makes it too easy for the Chinese youngster.
It's Guangzhou Finals replica when Shi YQ surprised Momota there then BAC episode, opening game was exactly same pattern but ran out of steam in next two sets. The Chinese number one played smarter in Nanning, losing first set then injected monster pace in second and deciding against the slow/blank Momota (fatigue plus under pressure). Just waiting their meeting in next big stage, World Championships in Basel, who will be on top at neutral ground?
let's hope this rivalry will be around for many more years to come for the benefit of us badminton fans.
It was clear that Kento Momota run out of stamina since 2nd game. His control was inaccurate and recovery from defence was slow. His defence was the thing impressed me most when I first watched him playing, not his power.
Momota did not have enough shot variety in games 2 & 3. Towards the end, Shi yuqi was able to read most of Momota's shots and take the shuttle early, thus putting pressure on Momota. Even without shot variety, I think Momota could have still won by playing slower, longer rallies and forcing mistakes out of Shi yuqi. But maybe due to injury or some other reason, Momota wanted to end the rallies quickly in game 3 and was unable to do so.
He generally sum it quite well except he didn't mention the most important point. The lost to someone who played better for that game on that day.
Momota does give credit to the Chinese team for their focus when it matters. But you can hardly expect him to admit that he lost to the "better player" on the day. He may well believe that his lack of stamina and inability to cope with the pressure in the final, which in Momota's case leads to a defensive, negative game stance, enabled Shi Yuqi play the way he did. It will be interesting to see how both players match up next time they meet.
Japanese audiences are usually much quieter than Chinese audiences. I think there is less home ground advantage for Japanese players.