Victor Lai of Canada secured the men’s singles bronze medal at the badminton world championships for the second consecutive year. The 21-year-old, hailing from Markham, Ontario, and ranked seventh, was defeated in the semifinals by European champion Alex Lanier of France with a score of 16-21, 21-13, 21-14 at the Indira Gandhi Arena in New Delhi.
Participants who do not advance to the final round are awarded bronze medals in the competition. Last year, Lai made history by winning Canada’s inaugural badminton world championships medal when he eliminated 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the quarterfinals held in Paris.
In this year’s tournament, Lai overcame Loh in the round of 16 and then defeated Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the quarterfinals, securing his second world championship medal. Notably, Lai has significantly improved his world ranking, moving up from 50th to seventh place within the past year.