Canada’s Victor Lai stuns Jonatan Christie to win Indonesia Open badminton tournament
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Canada's Victor Lai posing with his medal and trophy after winning the men's singles title at the Indonesia Open on June 7.
PHOTO: EPA
JAKARTA – Canada’s rising badminton talent Victor Lai made history on June 7 by winning his first Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour title on his debut at the Indonesia Open.
The 21-year-old defeated home favourite Jonatan Christie 21-19, 21-8 in just 39 minutes to prevail at the BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournament, which is just a tier below the BWF World Tour Finals.
World No. 5 Christie, also playing in his first Indonesia Open final, took the early lead in the first game but 14th-ranked Lai slowly caught up with the 28-year-old before clinching the opener.
Lai, the 2025 world championship bronze medallist, got off to a flying start in the second game with a 6-1 lead and never looked back as he sealed victory to take home US$101,500 (S$131,000) in prize money.
Thanking the fans at the Istora Senayan for helping him see through the men’s singles campaign, Lai said the atmosphere is “amazing” and the “best in the world”.
He added: “To Jonatan, he had a really good tournament as well. Kudos to him. A lot of respect. When I was younger, I used to watch him all the time so it feels amazing to play against him as well.”
In the women’s singles final, South Korea’s An Se-young retained her title after the world No. 1 defeated third-ranked Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 23-21, 21-12.
