Victor Lai

Victor Lai
賴浩俊
	Lai at the 2026 Indonesia Open
Personal information
Born	19 December 2004 (age 21); Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Sport
Country	Canada
Sport	Badminton
Handedness	Right
Coached by	Chau Hoi Wah
Men's singles
Career record	115 wins, 58 losses
Highest ranking	7 (28 July 2026)
Current ranking	7 (20 October 2026)
	BWF profile
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing Canada
World Championships
Pan Am Championships
Pan Am Men's Team Championships
Pan Am Mixed Team Championships
Junior Pan American Games
Pan Am Junior Championships

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.

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.

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
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

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.
↑ "YONEX Next Gen Team". Badminton Canada. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
↑ "Player: Victor LAI". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
↑ 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.
1 2 Sukumar, Dev (29 August 2025). "Victor Lai Makes History for Canada". Badminton World Federation.
↑ "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.
↑ "All England: Canada, France celebrate milestones". Badminton World Federation. 7 March 2026. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
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.
↑ "Victor Lai Diary: The Campaign Ends". Retrieved 14 October 2026.
↑ 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.
↑ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
↑ 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.
↑ "Champions at Guatemala International Series 2021". Badminton Pan America. 30 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
↑ "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.
↑ "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.
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.
↑ "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.

External links

Victor Lai at BWFBadminton.com
Victor Lai at BWFWorldTourFinals.BWFBadminton.com

[rci-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.

[wc25-5] 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.

[ina26-8] 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.

[canada25-12] 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.

[guatemala21-13] "Champions at Guatemala International Series 2021". Badminton Pan America. 30 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2025.

[canada23-14] "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.

[canada24-15] "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.

[guatemalajunior21-16] 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.

[portugal21-17] "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.