Kento Momota has won the YONEX All England Open Championship of 2019 after beating Viktor Axelsen over three very tense games.
The Dane came into this one having beaten the holder of the tournament, Shi Yuqi in yesterday’s semi-final, while Momota was the winner against Ng Ka Long Angus yesterday morning.
Momota’s first AllEngland title
Kento Momota has become the first Men’s Singles player from Japan to win the All England Open Championship.
Momota was the winner of the first game by a long stretch with the Dane looking to preserve his energy for a third should he have won the second, Momota won the first game 21-11.
The second was very much for Axelsen as he raced through and beat Momota with the score, 21-15 to take the match to a third game to see who would win their first All England title.
The World Champion beat the former World Champion with a performance like any winner (21-13) in the third game after Axelsen won the second
The bigger picture
Viktor Axelsen speaking post-match was a very honest man and believes that the winner of the match, Kento Momota deserved to win the title and congratulated him on the win.
Axelsen was playing in his first major tournament since returning from injury and reached his first ever All England final.
- Today was definitely a big challenge. I think that I was closer than I ever have been today so when I can put a few things behind me, I can be proud of my performance., Viktor Axelsen told Badminton Europe.
- Hopefully, I will continue to improve and we will have many more great matches against each other in the future, Viktor Axelsen told Badminton Europe.
- There were a few bad mistakes especially in the third game here and there, but you are under pressure in a match like this, and congrats to Momota for playing a very stable game, he said.
- A really good tournament for me, I played a tough match yesterday, I think there are many good things to take from here, but right now, I need to be disappointed for a few hours first.