Source:REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
[Saba Sports News] Recently, the 2025 Hong Kong Badminton Open commenced, and the performance of young Canadian player Victor Lai became a focus for many fans. After defeating Macau’s Pang Fong Pui 21-10, 22-20 in the first round of qualifying, Lai faced home favorite Jason Gunawan from Hong Kong in the deciding round. Gunawan was in hot form, having previously swept past Asian Junior Champion Moh. Zaki Ubaidillah 21-15, 21-13. At the start of the first game, Lai seemed somewhat off form while Gunawan played very smoothly, scoring from various attacks to quickly lead 10-2. Before the interval, Lai finally began to accelerate, using his excellent net control and tenacious defense to force errors from Gunawan, who played a bit hastily. After conceding 5 points in a row, Gunawan barely entered the interval with an 11-7 lead. In the second half of the game, Lai seemed to have physical issues and appeared drained. Although he recovered a few points towards the end, he still lost the first game 12-21. In the second game, Lai tried to accelerate again, but Gunawan remained steady. After a few rallies, Lai reverted to defensive play or simply hitting to the baseline. He neither applied strong net pressure to trouble his opponent nor created attacking opportunities for himself, a far cry from his form at the World Championships. Ultimately, Lai lost to Gunawan 12-21, 15-21, failing to reach the main draw. This result was unexpected. Has Lai’s fall from grace been too rapid? Or was his previous success merely a flash in the pan? Only time will tell us the answer.