Kento Momota admitted he had a problem translating his form in training to competitions, after the two-time world champion was dumped out of this year’s edition on home soil by H.S. Prannoy on Wednesday.
India’s third ranked men’s singles shuttler needed less than an hour to dispose of the Japanese 21-17, 21-16 in the third round, which marked another humbling defeat for Momota.
Dubbed one of the favourites for the title, Momota did not look promising in his opening-round victory against his much lower ranked Brazilian opponent too, so this defeat did not come as much of a surprise.
“It’s not about the opponent’s play, rather it is mine that didn’t go well. My training is not bad, it’s just that I have to bring that same level into tournaments. I need to work harder. Physically I am good,” said Momota.
The defeat meant the world number two crashed out early six times this season.
His best result came at the Malaysia Open in June, where he made the final before being completely outclassed by Viktor Axelsen in a one-sided affair.
This defeat was also the second consecutive time Momota crashed out early on home soil, after losing in the group stage of the Tokyo Olympics last year.
He gets a chance at redemption when he competes at the Japan Open (August 30-September 4) next.
