Victor Lai of Canada secured the men’s singles bronze medal at the badminton world championships in New Delhi. The 21-year-old from Markham, Ont., who was seeded seventh, faced a tough match against French player Alex Lanier in the semifinals but ultimately lost 16-21, 21-13, 21-14. Both semifinalists who don’t make it to the final round are awarded bronze medals.
Last year, Lai made history by winning Canada’s first-ever medal at a badminton world championship by defeating 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the quarterfinals in Paris. This year, Lai beat Loh in the round of 16 and later defeated Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the quarterfinals to claim his second world championship medal. Notably, Lai has significantly improved his world ranking, moving up from 50th to seventh place over the past year.