Victor Lai of Canada secured the men’s singles bronze medal at the badminton world championships for the second consecutive time. The 21-year-old athlete, hailing from Markham, Ontario, and seeded seventh, faced a defeat in the semifinals against the European champion, Alex Lanier of France, with a score of 16-21, 21-13, 21-14 at the Indira Gandhi Arena in New Delhi.
In this tournament, both semifinalists who do not progress to the final are awarded bronze medals. Lai made history last year by clinching Canada’s inaugural medal at a badminton world championship when he defeated 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the quarterfinals held in Paris. This year, he overcame Loh in the round of 16 and subsequently triumphed over Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the quarterfinals, securing his second world championship medal.
Noteworthy is Lai’s remarkable ascent in the world rankings, advancing from 50th place to seventh within the past year.
