Badminton number one Momota crashes out of Olympics

TOKYO (AFP): Japanese World badminton number one Kento Momota blamed his own “weakness” as he crashed out of the Tokyo Olympics in the first round on Wednesday.

Unseeded South Korean Heo Kwang-hee beat Momota 21-15, 21-19 to end his gold-medal bid after just two games, a day after Japanese tennis superstar Naomi Osaka also made an early exit.

Momota won a record 11 titles in 2019 to cement his place as the undisputed best badminton player in the world.

But he was almost forced to retire last year after a car crash that left him with career-threatening injuries, and he admitted his killer instinct of old had not yet returned.

Badminton number two seed Chou Tien-Chen also suffered a fright on Wednesday, but saw off 19-year-old Canadian Brian Yang 21-18, 16-21, 22-20.