Text by BWF
Who would’ve imagined that a 20-year-old from Canada would become the breakout star of the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2025?
At the start of the year, Victor Lai had modest aspirations – he just wanted to break into the top 70. Now, following his semifinal finish at the World Championships, he’s already No.35.
But it isn’t just about rankings. For someone just out of his teens and playing the biggest event of his life, there was something surreal about his assurance on court, his gameplay and his physical ability to last the distance, that suggests he is headed for the upper echelons of the sport.
Lai arrived at the Worlds with the possibility that he could cause an upset or two, given his form earlier this season. He’d won the Pan Am championships and was runner-up at his home Canada Open; his list of vanquished opponents this year included Jeon Hyeok Jin, Brian Yang and Kodai Naraoka. By his own admission, he was hoping to win a couple of rounds.
The first sign that he could make deep inroads came in the second round, when he fought off a first game deficit to beat 11th seed Lu Guang Zu. Then came the repeat win over Jeon Hyeok Jin. In the quarterfinals – on the verge of making history as the first Canadian medallist – he was unaffected by both the occasion and the opponent, 2021 champion Loh Kean Yew. Trailing by a distance in the first game, he stayed in the hunt and snatched it 22-20. Then, with a big lead in the second game and his opponent closing in, he held his nerve. Canada had their first ever medal.
“Unbelievable,” he’d say. “I’m still shocked, really happy and very thankful for all the support, my coaches and family.
“It was definitely hard. I was up in the second game but he sped up and he came back, and I was really, really nervous, until I think it was 19-18. It was really close. So I thought I had to just keep calm, try not to show too much emotion.”
Despite three wins against strong opponents, few would have given him a chance against a player of the calibre of Shi Yu Qi in the semifinals, given the top seed’s vast experience and form this season.
Yet again the Canadian would surprise, showing his big-game instinct to take the first game at 13, and reversing a deficit in the second to stand on the brink of an unthinkable upset at 20-18. Had he won one of the next two rallies, the result would have been a contender for the biggest upset in the history of the World Championships.
It was to Shi’s credit that he’d pull back from the edge, first through astute judgement of a clear that fell a few centimetres long, and then with an unplayable net shot.
Despite the top seed establishing dominance in the third, Lai continued to plug away in the third, and with a six-point sequence from 9-17 to 15-17, showed Shi would have to earn the victory.
Shi was panting heavily when he came off court – it was a combination of the physical toll and the anxiety of being on the brink of elimination. He was unstinted in his praise of Lai.
“I’d prepared well but it was very tough. In the end, it was about those two points. I was relatively calm at that point. I didn’t expect it to be so tough, he really played well.”
For his part, Lai rued the missed opportunity, but he was proud of the fight he’d shown even while Shi was running away with the match in the third.
“I can’t believe I was that close,” said Lai. “And I don’t think anyone can believe it, but I’m still very happy, even though I lost, I’m very happy to be with the top in the world.
“To be that close (to an upset) in my first World Championships is definitely a bit sad. I’m a little disappointed, but I’m still happy. In the third game, I still fought. I didn’t give up. Most people, I think, would give up after being that close. I still fought and gave it my all.”
His spectacular week in Paris has given him the confidence that he can match the big names, but for the moment, he is cautious about looking too far ahead.
“I’ll just take it step by step,” he says. “When you aim too high, you sort of lose the goal. I’ve already exceeded everyone’s expectations, right? So the goal is to just get as high ranking as I can, no specific goal.”
