High-Performance

Jakarta, Indonesia (June 7, 2026) – Victor Lai made history today becoming the first Canadian ever to win a Super 1000 on the HSBC World Tour beating Jonatan Christie, the number 5 World Ranked player from Indonesia, in the Men’s Singles 21-19 and 21-8 at the Istora Senayan Jakarta. The POLYTRON Indonesia Open 2026 is one of the most prestigious tournaments on the HSBC BWF World Tour with a $1,450,000USD prize purse for winners. 

 

Following the match Lai was asked what it was like to play in one of the world’s loudest stadiums for badminton, “It feels amazing, thank you to all the fans, you really helped me through the week, a lot of tough matches and the badminton is the best in the world.” 

 

Lai’s run to the finals started with #9 in the world from Chinese Taipei Lin Chun-Yi who he beat 21-12, 21-18. In the round of 16 he faced #16 from Japan Koki Watanabe downing him 21-10 and 21-9. In the quarter-finals Lai faced Toma Junior Popov from France, #17 in the world, beating him 21-8 and 21-14. In the semi-finals Lai faced his most difficult match against World #6 Chou Tien Chen losing his only game on the way to the championship 21-19, 19-21, 21-19. Overall, the run to the championship was simply scintillating for Lai winning 10 games and losing just 1.  

 

In his post-match comments Lai thanked the fans again, “You guys are amazing and to Jonatan Christie, he had a really good tournament as well, kudos to him all of respect, when I was younger I used to watch him all the time  so it feels amazing to have played against him as well.” 

 

With the win Lai won $101,500USD in prize money, nearly doubling his career totals. He also will win 12,000 ranking points which surely means a big jump for him (currently ranked #14) on the BWF World Tour Rankings which will be revised this Tuesday. 

 

Over the last year Lai has posted tremendous results, 2nd at the YONEX Canada Open, 3rd at the BWF World Championships, 3rd in the YONEX All England Open, 1st at the Pan Am Individual Championships and now a 1st in the POLYTRON Indonesia Open 2026. 

 

Badminton Canada’s National Team Head Coach, Mike Butler had this to say about the historic win, “What a tournament for Victor. He had several decisive wins against top players in the world and capped it off against one of Indonesia’s finest. So proud of Victor. It could not happen to a more deserving person. The future is bright for a now top 10 Canadian player. Well done Victor.” 

 

The first chance to catch Lai on home soil will be at the YONEX Canada Open June 30 to July 5, in Markham, Ontario at the Markham Pan Am Centre. Tickets are on sale and are going fast, do not miss your chance to see Canada’s top player thrill the badminton Community! Get your tickets here: TICKETS – YONEX CANADA OPEN – Official website 

 

 

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For media inquiries, please contact:  

Bryan R. Merrett  

Executive Director  

Telephone (613) 518-1501, X 2083  

bmerrett@badminton.ca  

 

About Badminton Canada 

With shuttles reaching speeds as high as 565 kph, badminton attracts more than 220 million people worldwide to play the sport weekly, making badminton the second most participated-in sport in the world. Badminton Canada works to grow the game across the country through events, coaching and officials’ development, and developing programs such as Shuttletime. In Canada, over 2 million people picked up a badminton racquet and played our sport. Some play at the cottage, some in the backyard, at school, the local community centre or as part of an organized Badminton Canada competition. Badminton is easily accessible – for any Canadian – at any age – for life!