For Tokyo Olympic gold medal favorite Kento Momota, it is perhaps fitting that a badminton career filled with so many ups and downs is so closely tied to disaster — in his case the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that occurred in northeastern Japan.
Reflecting on the event that struck the nation 10 years ago, the world's top-ranked men's singles player said he was in a state of confusion and despair on March 11, when he saw the shocking television images of the tsunami destroying towns and villages.
Sixteen-years-old at the time, Momota was a first-year student at Tomioka High School in Fukushima Prefecture, one of the worst affected areas. But at that specific moment, he was in Indonesia for a junior competition.