Kento Momota (桃田 賢斗) has been experiencing Malaysia, both the good, bad and ugly, since the Malaysia Open 2022. Previously, he had a run-in with unapologetic fans who disregarded his personal space and time. This time, Kento went toe to toe with the king of fruits.
The esteemed Japanese shuttler may have a spine of steel, grit and determination when he’s on the court. However, when faced with durian, he showed a surprisingly different side. Kento supposedly had a taste of our favoured local fruit and well… he clearly doesn’t share our opinion of it!
Kento recently got the chance to try durian, although he might have ended up regretting it later. He and a few others apparently went to a durian stall to try the fruit. In a viral video, Kento could be seen sitting at a table with a durian pulp in one gloved hand.
He looked apprehensive initially and gave it a cursory sniff. Although he definitely didn’t like the smell based on how fast he yanked it away from his face, Kento tried again. This time, it had him reaching for a tissue, clearly in preparation to actually taste the fruit.
The fruit tasting session was a sight to see. Kento took one tiny nibble of the fruit, before the taste registered and his face scrunched up in absolute disgust. Still, he was later seen tentatively biting the whole pulp, apparently trying to eat it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. With a bow of his head and a headshake, the Japanese shuttler gave up on the fruit entirely, reaching for some water instead.
Fans got a kick out of Kento’s expressive distaste of durian. Several found his reactions cute and others sympathised with him. One netizen even shared that they had disliked durian too, much like Kento. However, the taste eventually grew on them. It probably helps if you can differentiate between the real and fake durians, especially for Musang King.
Well, kudos to Kento for at least trying the king of fruits! We understand that if you haven’t grown up with durian, the smell and taste can be pretty overwhelming. However, Kento did his best! Who knows, he might end up liking it eventually.
Watch Kento’s reaction to durian here:
https://youtu.be/wX5PdtBgXN8
