20-year-old from Ontario makes Canadian badminton history
Canada has been put on the map in the world of badminton.
Markham, Ont., native Victor Lai took home a bronze medal at the badminton world championships in Paris over the weekend, becoming the first-ever Canadian to win a medal at the event.
The 20-year-old secured the medal after a loss to world No. 1 and eventual gold medal winner, Shi Yu Qi of China, in the semi-finals. Since both losers of the semi-final earn bronze medals, Lai did not have to play an additional match to wind up on the podium.
This came just weeks after Lai secured a gold medal at the Junior Pan American Games.
“I think I got a lot of confidence from the summer, from past tournaments, and it feels good to be the underdog,” Lai said. “I don’t have much pressure against the seeded players, so I just go and do my best.”
#BWC2025 – Men’s Singles
🥇Shi Yu Qi (CHN)
🥈Kunlavut Vitidsarn (THA)
🥉Anders Antonsen (DEN)
🥉Victor Lai (CAN)Congratulations to all medalists!#Paris2025 pic.twitter.com/lLZhhwFp6U
— Badminton Talk (@BadmintonTalk) August 31, 2025
It was a Cinderella run for Lai, who entered the tournament ranked 50th on the BWF World Rankings. He kicked things off with a dominant straight-sets victory over New Zealand, taking the final set by an incredible 21-2 score.
Lai then faced the 11th-ranked Guangzu Lu of China in the second round. Lu was a formidable opponent, having recently won a silver medal at the 2025 Asian Badminton Championships. It was a tense matchup, with Lai losing the first set, but the Canadian rallied to take the next two sets to advance.
Lai then dispatched South Korea’s Jeon Hyeok-jin in a third-round straight-sets victory.
Lai’s biggest victory of the tournament came in the quarter-finals, where he matched up against 2021 world champion and ninth-ranked Kean Yew Loh of Singapore. The Canadian got the straight sets victory, but only by a slim margin, taking the first set 22-20 and the deciding set 21-18. This guaranteed at least a bronze medal for Lai.
The podium finish has vaulted Lai up the world rankings as he is expected to slot in at 35th, an increase of 15 spots. Interestingly enough, he won’t be the top-ranked Canadian on that list as Toronto’s Brian Yang is just above him at 32nd.
The LA 2028 Summer Olympic Games are only three years away, and if Lai can keep it up, he may be able to make some noise for Canada.