Victor Lai

Last updated

Victor Lai
賴浩俊 [1]
Victor Lai - Indonesia Open 2026 (cropped).jpg
Lai at the 2026 Indonesia Open
Personal information
Born (2004-12-19) 19 December 2004 (age 21)
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada [2]
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) [3]
Sport
CountryCanada
Sport Badminton
HandednessRight
Coached by Chau Hoi Wah
Men's singles
Career record115 wins, 58 losses
Highest ranking7 (28 July 2026)
Current ranking7 (20 October 2026)
BWF profile
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
World Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2025 Paris Men's singles
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2026 New Delhi Men's singles
Pan Am Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2025 Lima Men's singles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2026 Lima Men's singles
Pan Am Men's Team Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Acapulco Men's team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 São Paulo Men's team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2026 Guatemala City Men's team
Pan Am Mixed Team Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2025 Aguascalientes Mixed team
Junior Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2025 Asunción Boys' singles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2025 AsunciónMixed doubles
Pan Am Junior Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2022 Santo DomingoBoys' singles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2022 Santo DomingoMixed team

Victor Lai (born 19 December 2004) is a Canadian international badminton player. At the 2025 BWF World Championships, he became the first ever player from Canada to win a medal, securing a bronze in the men's singles event and marking a major milestone for Canadian badminton. [4] [5]

Contents

Personal life

Lai's family was originally from Hong Kong. [1] He is currently an undergraduate student in Kinesiology at York University. [1] [6]

Career

At the 2025 BWF World Championships, Victor Lai made history by winning the bronze medal in men’s singles, becoming the first Canadian ever to medal at the event. His run included a comeback quarterfinal victory over former world champion Loh Kean Yew before narrowly losing in the semifinals to world No. 1 Shi Yuqi.  

At the Super 750 India Open in 2026, Lai reached the semifinals of the men’s singles event. He defeated Chi Yu-jen in the quarterfinals in three games, 21–18, 17–21, 21–15, to advance to the final four. His run ended in the semifinals against Lin Chun-yi, who later won the tournament. The result marked Lai’s first semifinal appearance at a BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament.

In his All England debut in March 2026, Lai once again reached the semi-finals in the historical tournament, becoming the first Canadian to reach such a milestone since women's singles player Wendy Carter achieved an All England semi-finalist in 1978. [7] In June, Lai stunned the home favourite, Jonatan Christie in the Indonesia Open to win his first world tour tournament. [8]

At the 2026 BWF World Championships, Victor repeated his historic 2025 run, winning a second bronze medal after falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Alex Lanier. [9]

Achievements

BWF World Championships

Men's singles

YearVenueOpponentScoreResultRef
2025 Adidas Arena, Paris, France Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Shi Yuqi 21–13, 20–22, 16–21 Med 3.png Bronze [5]
2026 Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi, India Flag of France.svg Alex Lanier 21–16, 13–21, 14–21 Med 3.png Bronze

Pan Am Championships

Men's singles

YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
2025 Videna Poli 2, Lima, Peru Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Joshua Nguyen 21–9, 21–18 Med 1.png Gold
2026 High Performance Center VIDENA, Lima, Peru Flag of El Salvador.svg Uriel Canjura 21–11, 21–9 Med 1.png Gold

Junior Pan American Games

Boys' singles

YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
2025 SND Stadium, Asunción, Paraguay Flag of Brazil.svg Deivid Silva 21–6, 23–21 Med 1.png Gold

Mixed doubles

YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult
2025 SND Stadium, Asunción, Paraguay Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Rachel Chan Flag of Brazil.svg Davi Silva
Flag of Brazil.svg Juliana Viana Vieira 		21–23, 21–14, 19–21 Med 2.png Silver

Pan Am Junior Championships

Boys' singles

YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
2022Hotel Mundo Imperial, Acapulco, Mexico Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Joshua Nguyen 13–21, 13–21 Med 2.png Silver

BWF World Tour (1 title, 1 runner-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, [10] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100. [11]

Men's singles

YearTournamentLevelOpponentScoreResultRef
2025 Canada Open Super 300 Flag of Japan.svg Kenta Nishimoto 13–21, 14–21Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up [12]
2026 Indonesia Open Super 1000 Flag of Indonesia.svg Jonatan Christie 21–19, 21–8Gold medal icon.svgWinner [8]

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 3 runners-up)

Men's singles

YearTournamentOpponentScoreResultRef
2021 Guatemala International Flag of Guatemala.svg Kevin Cordón 13–21, 11–21Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up [13]
2023 Canadian International Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Brian Yang 15–21, 12–21Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up [14]
2024Canadian International Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Brian Yang14–21, 8–21Silver medal icon.svgRunner-up [15]
2025Canadian International Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Brian Yang21–14, 21–15Gold medal icon.svgWinner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

BWF Junior International (3 titles)

Boys' singles

YearTournamentOpponentScoreResultRef
2021Guatemala Junior International Flag of Guatemala.svg Yeison Del Cid 25–23, 21–11Gold medal icon.svgWinner [16]
2021Portuguese Junior International Flag of France.svg Paul Tournefier 21–13, 21–13Gold medal icon.svgWinner [17]

Mixed doubles

YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResultRef
2021Guatemala Junior International Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Sophia Nong Flag of Guatemala.svg Antonio Ortiz
Flag of Guatemala.svg Ana González 		21–18, 21–15Gold medal icon.svgWinner [16]
  BWF Junior International Series tournament
  BWF Junior Future Series tournament

References

  1. 1 2 3 "华裔球手赖浩俊夺羽毛球世锦赛铜牌，成为加拿大第一人" [Chinese-Canadian badminton player Victor Lai won a bronze medal at the World Badminton Championships, becoming the first Canadian to achieve this]. Radio-Canada (in Simplified Chinese). 2 September 2025. Archived from the original on 9 September 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "YONEX Next Gen Team". Badminton Canada . Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  3. ↑ "Player: Victor LAI". Badminton World Federation . Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  4. ↑ Goh, Z. K. (29 August 2025). "BWF World Championships 2025: Loh Kean Yew exits in quarter-finals shock against Victor Lai". Olympics . Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  5. 1 2 Sukumar, Dev (29 August 2025). "Victor Lai Makes History for Canada". Badminton World Federation.
  6. ↑ "Congratulations to Victor Lai - Badminton World Champion at YONEX!". York University . 9 April 2026. Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "All England: Canada, France celebrate milestones". Badminton World Federation. 7 March 2026. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Canada's Victor Lai stuns Jonatan Christie to win Indonesia Open badminton tournament". The Straits Times. 7 June 2026. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "Victor Lai Diary: The Campaign Ends" . Retrieved 14 October 2026.
  10. ↑ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  11. ↑ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  12. ↑ Liew, Vincent (6 July 2025). "Kenta Nishimoto Wins 2025 Canada Open". BadmintonPlanet.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  13. ↑ "Champions at Guatemala International Series 2021". Badminton Pan America. 30 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  14. ↑ "Champions in Canada – Pan Am Circuit 2023". Badminton Pan America. 12 December 2023. Archived from the original on 26 December 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  15. ↑ "Winners in Canada – Pan Am Circuit 2024". Badminton Pan America. 10 December 2024. Archived from the original on 15 March 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Guatemala Junior International 2021 – Winners". Badminton Pan America. 22 September 2021. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  17. ↑ "Catlyn Kruus and Ramona Üprus won the tournament in Portugal!". Triiton (in Estonian). 5 December 2021. Archived from the original on 29 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
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