Canada’s Victor Lai secured the men’s singles bronze medal at the badminton world championships held in New Delhi. The 21-year-old athlete, hailing from Markham, Ont., was the seventh seed in the competition. He faced a tough match in the semifinals against the European champion, Alex Lanier of France, ultimately losing 16-21, 21-13, 21-14.
In this tournament, both semifinalists who do not progress to the final round receive bronze medals. Last year, Lai made history by clinching Canada’s inaugural medal at a badminton world championship when he defeated the 2021 world champion, Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, in the quarterfinals in Paris.
This year, Lai continued his impressive performance by beating Loh in the round of 16 and then defeating Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the quarterfinals to secure his second world championship medal. Notably, Lai has made significant strides in the past year, moving up from 50th to seventh in the world rankings.