Canada’s Victor Lai secured the men’s singles bronze medal at the badminton world championships in New Delhi. The 21-year-old athlete from Markham, Ont., who was seeded seventh, faced a defeat in the semifinals against French player Alex Lanier with a score of 16-21, 21-13, 21-14 at the Indira Gandhi Arena.
In this tournament, players who reach the semifinals but do not proceed to the final round 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, Lai continued his success by eliminating Loh in the round of 16 and later overcoming Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the quarterfinals to secure his second world championship medal. Notably, Lai has significantly improved his world ranking, moving up from 50th to seventh place over the past year.