Momota resumes training after testing Covid positive

The 26-year-old was confirmed infected in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test he took at Tokyo's Narita Airport just before departing for Bangkok with the Japanese national team for the Thailand Open.

Tokyo: Kento Momota, the world's top-ranked men's singles badminton player, has resumed training 10 days after testing positive for COVID-19.

Japan's state broadcaster NHK said that Momota has returned to practice by himself after being isolated for 10 days. "I want to do my best so that I can come back in great shape," he was quoted as saying, according to a news agency.

The 26-year-old was confirmed infected in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test he took at Tokyo's Narita Airport just before departing for Bangkok with the Japanese national team for the Thailand Open.

Momota showed no symptoms despite the positive result and after the 10-day isolation required by the health centre, he returned to his Tokyo dormitory on Thursday.

The Nippon Badminton Association (NBA) cancelled the team's flight because of Momota's infection although the team's other players and staff assembled at the airport for the trip tested negative.