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.
Personal life Lai's family was originally from Hong Kong. He is currently an undergraduate student in Kinesiology at York University.
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. In June, Lai stunned the home favourite, Jonatan Christie in the Indonesia Open to win his first world tour tournament.
Achievements
BWF World Championships Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref 2025 Adidas Arena, Paris, France Shi Yuqi 21–13, 20–22, 16–21 Bronze 2026 Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi, India Alex Lanier 21–16, 13–21, 14–21 Bronze
Pan Am Championships Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 2025 Videna Poli 2, Lima, Peru Joshua Nguyen 21–9, 21–18 Gold 2026 High Performance Center VIDENA, Lima, Peru Uriel Canjura 21–11, 21–9 Gold
Junior Pan American Games Boys' singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 2025 SND Stadium, Asunción, Paraguay Deivid Silva 21–6, 23–21 Gold
Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2025 SND Stadium, Asunción, Paraguay Rachel Chan Davi Silva Juliana Viana Vieira 21–23, 21–14, 19–21 Silver
Pan Am Junior Championships Boys' singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 2022 Hotel Mundo Imperial, Acapulco, Mexico Joshua Nguyen 13–21, 13–21 Silver
BWF World Tour (1 title, 1 runner-up) The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, 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.
Men's singles Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result Ref 2025 Canada Open Super 300 Kenta Nishimoto 13–21, 14–21 Runner-up 2026 Indonesia Open Super 1000 Jonatan Christie 21–19, 21–8 Winner
BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 3 runners-up) Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref 2021 Guatemala International Kevin Cordón 13–21, 11–21 Runner-up 2023 Canadian International Brian Yang 15–21, 12–21 Runner-up 2024 Canadian International Brian Yang 14–21, 8–21 Runner-up 2025 Canadian International Brian Yang 21–14, 21–15 Winner BWF International Challenge tournament BWF International Series tournament
BWF Junior International (3 titles) Boys' singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref 2021 Guatemala Junior International Yeison Del Cid 25–23, 21–11 Winner 2021 Portuguese Junior International Paul Tournefier 21–13, 21–13 Winner
Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2021 Guatemala Junior International Sophia Nong Antonio Ortiz Ana González 21–18, 21–15 Winner BWF Junior International Series tournament BWF Junior Future Series tournament
References
External links
Victor Lai at BWFWorldTourFinals.BWFBadminton.com