Victor Lai has become the first-ever Pan Am singles player to reach the semifinals of the BWF World Championships. In a stunning quarterfinal at the Adidas Arena in Paris, he defeated Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew—ranked world No. 9—by 22-20, 21-18.
With this breakthrough win, Lai is assured at least a bronze medal—another first for the region, and in his very first participation at World Championships.
Lai now prepares to face one of the tournament’s elites in the semifinals: world number one Shi Yu Qi of China, who defeated his compatriot Weng Hong Yang in a 3-games match during quarterfinals.
“I feel amazing. I am shocked. I am very proud of my self for the way that I handle this. I was down in the first set, and he was catching up in the second set, so I am really happy I can manage it and stay calm.
Thanks for the support at the coliseum, that definitely helps in the moments when I’m down, in the moments when he came back, the crowd really helps giving me some energy.”
This milestone underscores a major breakthrough for Pan Am: until now, the best previous performances included US athletes Howard Bach and Tony Gunawan who got the gold in Men’s Doubles in 2005. In Singles, Brazil’s Ygor Coelho reached the Round of 16 in 2018, and Michelle Li and Beiwen Zhang also reached the Round of 16 in past editions.
