Kento Momota admitted he contemplated retirement after being involved in a road accident in Malaysia earlier this year.

Hours after he beat Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen to win the Malaysia Masters, a van ferrying the world number one crashed into the back of a trailer on the way to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on January 13.

The Japanese star was discharged from the Putrajaya Hospital after two days, but had to undergo an eye operation after developing double vision upon returning home.

"At that time I thought of giving it all up. After my accident I couldn’t move at all, and I was striving to recover my fitness.

"Then the eye issue occurred and I was grappling with whether to have surgery or not. There were times when my spirit was almost broken," Momota told the Badminton World Federation.

Following the success of his surgery, the two-time world champion returned to training on February 29 and set his sights on picking up where he left off to continue dominating the men’s singles circuit.

"The issue I have to tackle is whenever I’m on court, I want to get into the action. I have to make sure I take it easy.

"If I rush and overdo it, I risk injury. I want to have a little more margin for error. I want to come back stronger than ever. I want to work harder than ever.

"I want to aim for gold medal [at the Tokyo Olympics]. I have never been away from badminton for so long. I am very much enjoying hitting shuttlecocks," said Momota, who won a record 11 titles in 2019.