Top-ranked Japanese badminton player Kento Momota arrives at Narita Airport in Chiba prefecture on January 15, 2020. Momota arrived in Japan on January 15 after being released from a Malaysian hospital following a car crash that killed his driver and left
TOKYO - World number one badminton player Kento Momota was discharged from hospital on Friday, his sponsor Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp, said in a statement, after being treated for injuries sustained in a vehicle collision in Malaysia.
Momota was among four passengers in a van travelling to the airport on Monday when it crashed into the back of a 30-tonne truck, injuring them and killing the driver of the van.
The Badminton World Federation said Momota suffered multiple lacerations to his face and a nasal bone fracture during the crash but after being treated at a hospital in Tokyo, the 25-year-old was discharged with "no physical problems."
"To the fans who are cheering, and those concerned such as the Malaysian Government and the Japan Badminton Association, I made you worried this time, but fortunately there was no problem found in the close examination," Momota said in the statement.
"I am really grateful of a lot of support I received after the accident."
"Again, I send my prayers to the driver who died in the accident."
Momota, who won the Malaysia Masters on Sunday before the crash, is expected to be one of Japan's biggest hopes for gold at this year's Tokyo Olympics.
"Although I will be in a recuperating period for a while, I will try to restore my mind and body," he said.
"I would like to show my fullest play as soon as possible, so that I can give back to those who support me."
