High-Performance

Yeosu City, Korea (November 8, 2026) – Victor Lai continued his historic run on the HSBC BWF World Tour by making history today becoming the first Canadian ever to win the Korea Open by defeating #17 World Tour ranked Jason Gunawan 21-11, 21-14. The YEOSU Korea Open 2026 is a prominent HSBC BWF 500 World Tour stop on the calendar, which nets the winner $37,000 USD. 

Things are firmly on the up for Victor Lai. The Canadian has soared into his first Super 500 final at the YEOSU Korea Open 2026, leaving behind a run of first-round exits at this level, yet adding another milestone to a standout season that already includes a Super 1000 title at the Indonesia Open. 

The world No.7 defeated Lee Cheuk Yiu 19-21 21-15 21-12 to advance. He credited patience for helping him turn the match around after losing the first game to Lee who he described as “a really good player” with a “really good attack.” 

With the win Lai won $36,000 USD in prize money, bringing his career winnings to close to $250,000 which has mostly been won since his incredible run at the Yonex Canada Open in 2025. 

Badminton Canada’s Executive Director, Bryan Merrett, had this to say about another historic win, “Victor continues to shine on the world stage. His ability to learn from past performances continues to set him up for success. The Canadian badminton community celebrates his amazing performance!” 

Victor continues his pursuit of a place in the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2026 in Hangzhou, China in December. This win puts Victor in great position to be one of only 8 qualifiers for the event. 

 

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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!