Victor Lai became the first Canadian to win a Badminton World Championships medal after reaching the men’s semi-finals in Paris on Friday, while champion An Se-young continued to dominate the women’s singles.
Unseeded Lai sprang an upset by beating Singapore’s 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew. The 20-year-old Canadian fell 17-12 down in the first game but kept his composure to overcome the ninth seed 22-20, 21-18 in their quarter-final clash.
“Unbelievable, I’m still shocked,” Lai said. “I think I got a lot of confidence from the summer, from past tournaments, and it feels good to be the underdog.
“I don’t have much pressure against the seeded players, so I just go and do my best.”
Lai will face Chinese top seed Shi Yuqi, who needed three games to get past compatriot Weng Hongyang 21-15, 7-21, 21-10.
There were no surprises in the other two quarter-finals. Defending champion, Thailand’s third seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn, beat Indonesia’s Leonardus Jonatan Christie 21-14, 18-21, 21-8 to set up a semi-final meeting with second seed Anders Antonsen.