PETALING JAYA: The national men’s singles players might learn a thing or two from the success of Victor Lai (pic), a little-known Canadian player who made headlines in Paris last week.
The 20-year-old made history for his country by becoming the first Canadian to win a medal at the World Championships.
Even more impressive, the world No. 50 managed to defeat several higher-ranked players, including Lu Guangzu (No. 11), Jeon Hyeok-jin (No. 38), and 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew.
His performance in the semi-finals was equally remarkable, taking a set off world No. 1 Shi Yuqi, before ultimately succumbing 21-13, 20-22, 16-21.
What’s even more extraordinary, he is only a part-time badminton player, balancing his sport with studies in kinesiology at York University in Toronto.
“Before this season, my physical was not up to par and it’s still not up to par, at least I can compete with the top guys,” said Victor to Olympics.com
“I don’t have the power, strength of those other guys, but I think I make up for it with my mental and my skills.”
It marked the biggest achievement of his career, adding a World Championships bronze to the Pan Am Championships title he won in April.
This raises the question of why Malaysian singles shuttlers, particularly those based at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) with access to top-class facilities and an experienced coaching line-up, are still unable to replicate such success or at the very least produce more encouraging results.
Apart from Lee Zii Jia, who competes as an independent, Malaysia’s other representative in the men’s singles in Paris was Leong Jun Hao.
Like Victor, it was his debut at the world meet, but Jun Hao missed the chance to go further after losing to Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in the second round.
Jun Hao’s early exit was even more disappointing considering he had undergone a five-day intensive training stint in Copenhagen with K. Letshanaa and Justin Hoh ahead of the championships.
