Momota, who became the first Japanese man to win a World Championships medal with bronze at last year’s event in Jakarta and won the BWF Superseries Finals in December, has been implicated alongside his NTT East Japan team-mate.

Both admitted to placing bets at an underground casino which had been raided by police last year.

Momota, 21, who had been expected to lead the Japanese team at Rio 2016, admitted to visiting a casino six times.

Both have been suspended for "more than a year", the Nippon Badminton Association (NBA) confirmed, leading to their removal from the men's singles world and Olympic ranking lists.

The BWF Council agreed in 2014 that any player suspended for more than a year would be removed from all rankings.

Momota was ranked second when news of his suspension first appeared but had dropped to fourth on a latest list headed by Chen Long of China.

Tago had been in 86th position.

Gambling is largely illegal in Japan and those found to have engaged in the practice can be sentenced to up to five years in jail.

Publicly-operated gambling, including on sports such as horse racing and on keirin races in cycling, is allowed under Japanese law.

There has been little sympathy for the duo from leading figures in the Asian nation, however.

Olympics Minister Toshiaki Endo blasted Momota’s actions as “a betrayal of the Olympic spirit”, adding that if the allegations are proven “then 100 per cent he has no right to represent Japan”.

“Make no mistake about it, there are more important things in sport than winning medals," said Hiroshi Hase, Minister for Education, Culture and Sport.