Victor Lai Diary: The Campaign Begins

Given the high-profile upsets that have rocked the BWF World Championships, Victor Lai was circumspect about his first round against Jeon Hyeok Jin. He’d lost to the Korean at their last meeting in Thailand, and so it was with some relief that he came away after a comprehensive straight-games win, 21-12 21-17 in 57 minutes.

We’ve been discussing the World Championships for a while now. How much of a relief was it to finally go out there and get the first win?

Pretty big relief to get one win under the belt. There’s been a couple of surprises this tournament already, so not trying to think about that too much, but I felt pressure today, and I was a little bit nervous, but really happy that I stuck it out and got one win. And now that I’m a bit more used to the court and just kind of eased into the tournament — not eased, but have a match under my belt – it’s pretty nice.

“Conditions are definitely tricky. The bird is floating a little, different than normal, but I have a bit more experience now playing in Asia. So I’m learning to adapt well.

“But yeah, seeing the couple of surprises this tournament it’s definitely in the back of my head, definitely trying to think about that. I’m a seed, but I have to play each game like it’s fifty-fifty.”

You lost your last match to Jeon. How did you turn things around?

I lost to him in Thailand and I felt like I was underprepared that time. I thought it would be a bit easier than it was because I’d beaten him the past two times before that, so I naturally underestimated him a little bit and I kind of gave him an ease to the game and he’s a very solid four-corner player. So if I give him easy shots, he can get into rhythm and his shots are really, really good. So this time I was really prepared and trying not to let him get into rhythm.

Overall, satisfied with the way you handled your challenges?

Of course, I would have hoped it was a little bit easier, but this is the World Championships, everyone is tough and everyone has the underdog mentality. So I’m just happy that I got one win under the belt, of course, that was a pretty physically demanding game. Shuttles not too fast, so some long rallies, but I feel excited and I’m ready for the next matches.

Follow Lai’s Journey Here Throughout the BWF World Championships 2026