Badminton World No. 2 Misses Rio Olympics

(ATR) Japanese shuttler Kento Momota will not compete at the Olympics after being hit with a suspension for gambling at an illegal casino.

The world No. 2, already qualified for the Rio Games, was suspended indefinitely by the Nippon Badminton Association at an emergency board meeting on Sunday, denying him a shot at winning a medal this summer.

Momota together with shuttler Kenichi Tago and other teammates from their club side Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corp. admitted last week to gambling at the Tokyo casino, which was raided by police in spring last year.

Tago was also suspended by Japan’s national badminton governing body and fired by his club NTT East Corp., according to Kyodo News. He reportedly admitted to taking Momota to the casino.

Momota, 21, was a big medal prospect at Rio 2016.

Last summer he became the first Japanese man to win a world championship medal, securing a bronze in Jakarta. In December, he became the first Japanese player ever to win the BWF Super Series Masters Finals in Dubai. Earlier this month, he won the Indian Open title, his fourth super series title after bagging three competition wins in 2015.

Japan’s national badminton body appeared to have little choice but to drop him from their plans for the Rio Games. Casino gambling is illegal in Japan, with prison sentences possible for frequent gamblers and those opening venues for gambling.

The Badminton World Federation did not respond to a request for comment.

Reported by Mark Bisson

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.