<p>Japanese badminton star Kento Momota blamed his fear of failure for a "weak-spirited" second-round exit from the world championships on Wednesday after losing 21-17, 21-16 to India's HS Prannoy.</p>.<p>Number two seed Momota, whose career has been in free fall since a car crash more than two years ago left him badly hurt, limped out after another meek performance in front of a stunned crowd in Tokyo.</p>.<p>Momota, once badminton's undisputed king, looked a shadow of the player that won a record 11 titles in 2019, and he pulled no punches when analysing his own performance after the match.</p>.<p>"I was so scared of making mistakes that I shrunk within myself a little and I think that was why I lost," the crestfallen 27-year-old told reporters.</p>.<p>"I realised that midway through the match, but I couldn't do anything to fix it. I was weak-spirited and that's so frustrating."</p>.<p>Momota dumped shot after shot into the net and was powerless to stop world number 18 Prannoy from taking control early in the match.</p>.<p>Momota vowed to try to get back to his former position at badminton's summit but he said he would need some time to get over this latest disappointment.</p>.<p>"I think I used to win titles too easily," he said.</p>.<p>"It became a matter of course that I would win them, but it's difficult and some players never win even one."</p>.<p>"I don't think at all that I'm not capable of winning titles," he added.</p>.<p>Prannoy will play in the next round against his Indian compatriot Lakshya Sen, who advanced with a 21-17, 21-10 win over Spain's Luis Enrique Penalver.</p>.<p>"I can't really be happy about what I've done because you don't have time for that," Prannoy said.</p>.<p>"You have to get ready for what's to come next tomorrow and hopefully keep getting better."</p>.<p>Malaysian number five seed Lee Zii Jia also booked his place in the next round with a comfortable 21-9, 21-12 win over Portugal's Bernardo Atilano.</p>.<p>Lee is aiming to become the first Malaysian ever to win a world badminton title and he said he was "feeling good" after making short work of Atilano.</p>.<p>"I think the real challenge will be tomorrow, and my opponent will be tougher than today," said the 24-year-old.</p>.<p>"It's a big challenge for me -- I want to be the first to win the world championships from Malaysia. I think everyone has a big chance to win so we will see."</p>.<p>Defending champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore had to fend off a furious second-game fightback from Guatemala's Kevin Cordon before closing out their contest 21-12, 11-21, 21-12.</p>.<p>Number eight seed Loh played down the pressure of arriving in Tokyo as the reigning champion and said he intended to "treat it like any other tournament".</p>.<p>"I'm definitely happy on the winning side, always," he said.</p>.<p>India's Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Kidambi Srikanth was stunned 21-9, 21-17 by China's unseeded Zhao Junpeng.</p>.<p>Number 12 seed Srikanth, the silver medallist at last year's world championships and part of India's Thomas Cup-winning team in May, said he "could have maybe played better".</p>.<p>"He just played well when it really mattered," said the former world number one.</p>
<p>Japanese badminton star Kento Momota blamed his fear of failure for a "weak-spirited" second-round exit from the world championships on Wednesday after losing 21-17, 21-16 to India's HS Prannoy.</p>.<p>Number two seed Momota, whose career has been in free fall since a car crash more than two years ago left him badly hurt, limped out after another meek performance in front of a stunned crowd in Tokyo.</p>.<p>Momota, once badminton's undisputed king, looked a shadow of the player that won a record 11 titles in 2019, and he pulled no punches when analysing his own performance after the match.</p>.<p>"I was so scared of making mistakes that I shrunk within myself a little and I think that was why I lost," the crestfallen 27-year-old told reporters.</p>.<p>"I realised that midway through the match, but I couldn't do anything to fix it. I was weak-spirited and that's so frustrating."</p>.<p>Momota dumped shot after shot into the net and was powerless to stop world number 18 Prannoy from taking control early in the match.</p>.<p>Momota vowed to try to get back to his former position at badminton's summit but he said he would need some time to get over this latest disappointment.</p>.<p>"I think I used to win titles too easily," he said.</p>.<p>"It became a matter of course that I would win them, but it's difficult and some players never win even one."</p>.<p>"I don't think at all that I'm not capable of winning titles," he added.</p>.<p>Prannoy will play in the next round against his Indian compatriot Lakshya Sen, who advanced with a 21-17, 21-10 win over Spain's Luis Enrique Penalver.</p>.<p>"I can't really be happy about what I've done because you don't have time for that," Prannoy said.</p>.<p>"You have to get ready for what's to come next tomorrow and hopefully keep getting better."</p>.<p>Malaysian number five seed Lee Zii Jia also booked his place in the next round with a comfortable 21-9, 21-12 win over Portugal's Bernardo Atilano.</p>.<p>Lee is aiming to become the first Malaysian ever to win a world badminton title and he said he was "feeling good" after making short work of Atilano.</p>.<p>"I think the real challenge will be tomorrow, and my opponent will be tougher than today," said the 24-year-old.</p>.<p>"It's a big challenge for me -- I want to be the first to win the world championships from Malaysia. I think everyone has a big chance to win so we will see."</p>.<p>Defending champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore had to fend off a furious second-game fightback from Guatemala's Kevin Cordon before closing out their contest 21-12, 11-21, 21-12.</p>.<p>Number eight seed Loh played down the pressure of arriving in Tokyo as the reigning champion and said he intended to "treat it like any other tournament".</p>.<p>"I'm definitely happy on the winning side, always," he said.</p>.<p>India's Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Kidambi Srikanth was stunned 21-9, 21-17 by China's unseeded Zhao Junpeng.</p>.<p>Number 12 seed Srikanth, the silver medallist at last year's world championships and part of India's Thomas Cup-winning team in May, said he "could have maybe played better".</p>.<p>"He just played well when it really mattered," said the former world number one.</p>