Victor Lai of Scarborough, Ontario has won the 2026 Indonesia Open in men’s badminton. The tournament title is historic because Lai became the first Canadian ever to win a Badminton World Federation World Tour Super 1000 tournament title according to CBC Sports on Sunday. In the final, Lai upset the fifth seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, 21-9, 21-8.
Lai, who was unseeded, upset the eighth seed, Chun-yi Lin of Taiwan, 21-19, 21-15 in the first round, Koki Watanabe of Japan 21-10, 21-9 in the second round, TJ Popov of France 21-8, 21-14 in the quarterfinals, and upset the sixth seed Tien-chen Chou of Taiwan, 21-19, 19-21, 21-19 in the semifinals. Chou won the bronze medal in men’s badminton at the 2022 World Badminton Championships in Tokyo.
Lai’s win is extremely prestigious because there are only four Super 1o00 events in the Badminton World Federation World Tour. The other three are the All England Open, the China Open and the Malaysia Open. Starting in 2027, there will be a Super 1000 tournament event in Denmark.
This is also Lai’s first ever BWF World Tour title. He reached the final of the 2025 Canada Open in Markham, Ontario, but lost to Kenta Nishimoto of Japan, 21-13, 21-14. With the win at the Indonesia Open, Lai is now ranked 17th in the world. The BWF tournament title will give him confidence as he prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
