World champion Kento Momota revved into the last four of badminton’s $1.5 million World Tour Finals with a third comprehensive victory yesterday.
The all-action Japanese star powered past Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto 21-14, 21-8 in just 36 minutes in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. Joining the world number one from Group B is the late Indian qualifier Sameer Verma, who will play home hope Shi Yuqi in today’s last four.
Momota, the man to beat, will be strong favourite against South Korea’s Son Wan-ho in their semi-final. The 24-year-old Momota has won all three of his matches this week
 without dropping a game.
Victory in Guangzhou would be a fitting end to a spectacular year in which he has reached number one in the world for the first time and won his maiden world title.
It is all a far cry from 2016, when he was banned for more than a year by the Japanese team for visiting an illegal casino, missing the Rio Olympics.
In the women’s draw, there was heartbreak for world number one Tai Tzu-ying. The Taiwanese retired with a right hamstring strain against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi and said: “I’ve never had this injury before. 
“I felt it during today’s match. I feel bad that the tournament ended like this for me, but there was nothing I could do.”
Yamaguchi will face Nozomi Okuhara in an all-Japanese showdown while in-form P.V. Sindhu of India plays Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon in the other women’s semi-final.


Indian badminton ace Nehwal weds Kashyap
India’s former world number one Saina Nehwal yesterday announced her marriage to fellow badminton player Parupalli Kashyap, calling it the best match of her life.
Nehwal, 28, also shared a couple of pictures in which the duo are seen dressed in traditional Indian attires and wearing flower garlands. The post, which included a heart and a smiling face emoji, was hashtagged #justmarried. Nehwal and Kashyap are planning a grand reception on December 21, local media reports said. The couple confirmed their relationship in October although rumours about their relationship had been swirling for some time. Nehwal said she had started dating Kashyap, 32, in 2007 after they began going on tours together but delayed the marriage in order to focus on their careers. Nehwal, who won a bronze at the Asian Games in Jakarta, is currently 10th in the world badminton rankings.
Their wedding is the latest after a string of high-profile Indian sportspeople tied the knot.
Grand Slam-winning Indian tennis star Sania Mirza married Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik in a dazzling ceremony in 2010 while wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik is married to squash sensation Dipika Pallikal.
Fast bowler Ishant Sharma married national basketball player Pratima Singh in 2016, and last year Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli tied the knot with one of the top Bollywood stars Anushka Sharma.