There’s a good chance people will be seeing badminton fans out in droves for the next few days, with their cameras ready. Why? Well, it’s because shuttlers like Kento Momota (桃田 賢斗), An Se-young (안세영), Lin Dan (林丹) and more are currently in town, of course!
The 2024 Malaysian Badminton Open has already begun and as any devout badminton fan knows, there’s an opportunity to meet your favourites, especially in the Bukit Bintang area. But, some claim that of all the players here currently, Kento Momota might just be the easiest to meet!
There’s a whole slew of badminton-related events taking place here in Kuala Lumpur currently, from the much-anticipated 2024 Malaysian Badminton Open to YONEX King’s Ambition press conference. As such, it wasn’t a stretch for some fans to connect the dots and figure that most shuttlers would likely be found in the Bukit Bintang area to shop and dine.
Well, as it turns out, their instincts were spot on. Famed players such as Japanese shuttler Kento Momota, South Korean shuttler An Se-young and formidable ex-shuttler from China, Lin Dan have all been spotted roaming the area, and some netizens were reportedly lucky enough to snap photos with them.
According to one, she bumped into Momota in Lot 10. “Momota happened to be getting on the escalator, so I asked him for a photo,” she shared. “After taking the photo, I thought of removing my mask to take one more. Maybe he was in a good mood, or maybe (because) there was no one on the escalator, Momota agreed to my request.”
The netizen also added that she had met Kento Momota again when having lunch with her friends and joked that he was the easiest player to meet. Well, she might not be far off as two others later uploaded their experience running into the Japanese shuttler too! One luckily managed to nab a photo with him with another bemoaned missing their chance as they were caught unprepared.
Apparently, they had been having lunch with their colleagues when Kento Momota passed by. “By the time I reacted, he had already walked away. I was too embarrassed to rush up and disturb him like a crazy fan,” they recalled. They later regretted not asking for a photo anyway. “I missed such a good opportunity because no one else had noticed him at the time,” they lamented.
Another however had hoped to meet someone else: current world number one in woman’s singles, An Se-young. This fan tried their luck in Lot 10’s food court and did manage to find her. “She was waiting for her food, so I was afraid of disturbing her initially,” they said. But, when they did manage to pluck up their courage, they were surprised by how easily Se-young agreed to a photo, even giving them a kind smile.
Although photos of Lin Dan in Bukit Bintang have not popped up yet, it seems he was spotted elsewhere instead. One fan shared they hadn’t expected to run into Lin Dan at KLIA, allegedly when he landed in Malaysia. “It was such a coincidence to meet Lin Dan at the Kuala Lumpur Airport and to take the same shuttle bus (as him),” they stated, adding shots of the badminton legend.
Well, we’re certainly delighted for these lucky few and sincerely hope others too will get the chance to meet their favourites. But, we also urge fans to respect the shuttlers and their boundaries to avoid making them uncomfortable, just like what happened with Kento Momota last year.
