Badminton World Championships medallist one week, kinesiology university student the next.
That’s exactly what Canada’s Victor Lai is experiencing, after the 20-year-old part-time student and part-time badminton player produced a second stunning upset in a week at the 2025 BWF World Championships in Paris to become Canada’s first ever world medallist in the sport.
Having already defeated 11th seed Lu Guangzu in the round of 32, Lai went one better on Friday to knock out the 2021 world champion and ninth seed Loh Kean Yew, winning 22–20, 21–18 in straight games.
With losing semi-finalists receiving bronze medals, it means Lai will leave the French capital to return to Toronto’s York University next week as a history-maker for Canada. No badminton player representing the country has previously reached a World Championships semi-final in any of the sport’s five events.
“I start school next week,” Lai laughs when Olympics.com asks him about returning to Canada after a successful run at these World Championships, a month after he reached the fourth round at the World University Games in Germany.
For someone whose global experience has been limited to BWF World Tour Super 300-level events and below — “I’ve played one [Super] 500 before but that’s it,” Lai confirms — it’s been a run to dream of.
So much so that it has Lai considering his future options. Most of the players he’s faced this week are professionals, either training under national team set-ups or independently, without having to worry about a second job or other commitments.
“School can always take a pause,” he says. “I’m part-time so depending on how much I can handle [balancing] school and badminton, I’ll see.
“For sure [it gives me pause for thought], that’s something that’s going to be on the mind and just excited for tomorrow to give it my best again.”
‘Tomorrow’ brings a semi-final contest against what would be the biggest scalp of all, if he can pull it off: world number one Shi Yuqi of People’s Republic of China.
“I think just my training this year, I’ve had blocks of training on end, 5-6 weeks, that helped me build up physically,” Lai explains of his success this week.
“Before this season, my physical was not up to par and it’s still not up to par, at least I can compete with the top guys. I don’t have the power, strength, of those other guys, but I think I make up for it with my mental and my skills.”
Now that he’s proven he can hang with “those other guys”, there are new things to get used to.
Lai was stopped by multiple outlets in the media mixed zone after his match, including by Chinese media who asked him questions in Cantonese, a language Lai understands thanks to his family’s background from Hong Kong China.
“It’s something I’m not used to,” Lai acknowledged of the media attention. But it’s one thing Lai will become accustomed to, especially if he continues his remarkable run up the world rankings.
The Canadian began the year ranked 99th in the world, and entered the World Championships ranked 50th. After his exploits in Paris, he is looking at a big jump once more.
“Actually, at the beginning of the year, my goal was just top 50,” he shares.
Mission accomplished, he isn’t setting himself a new target this year. “Now I’ve reached it… just the pressure’s gone. I can just go out there and enjoy myself and do my best [every game].”