Rise in applause, Canada! You have your first HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000 champion!

Victor Lai’s triumph at the POLYTRON Indonesia Open 2026 marks Canada’s biggest-ever podium finish. What was so unusual about the victory was that it was his far more experienced rival, Jonatan Christie, who cracked under the pressure of playing in front of the raucous crowd at the Istora.

Christie has played at the Istora for over a decade; yet, in his quest for a first Indonesia Open title, he spectacularly fell apart. In contrast was his 21-year-old rival, in the biggest final of his career, who went about his business with the assurance of a seasoned pro.

Christie had a haunted look as he came off court. “He played with nothing to lose. He played in front of the full house, and he was very very calm. He didn’t make any mistakes, but I did. I felt too much pressure. When I came here, the pressure kept building, and I couldn’t handle it on court.

“Going through to the final is not easy; it’s an achievement. I was nearly there, but I must learn from this for the next tournament.”

Having quickly come to terms with the victory. Lai was just as assured and in control of his emotions off court as he was on it.

“I never would have imagined I’d win a Super 1000 title, and it’s like I’m dreaming still. The past couple of nights I’ve been thinking about scenarios in my head, and I’m glad that one of them came true.”

What did this mean for Canadian badminton?

“I think it shows that you have got to believe. In Canada we might not have the support or the firepower as other countries, but if you believe, you can do it.

“It’s like I’m still dreaming. I think we, as a country, or as a region, Pan Am region, we’re getting stronger every year, and the support we have back home with our coaches and our clubs, I think it shows a lot that we’re training in the right direction, and hopefully with more support Canadian badminton can grow. We’ve showed it with Michelle (Li) before, Brian (Yang), all these guys, they’re capable of competing with the top guys, and today I hope that I inspire some young kids from Canada to believe.”

Given that he looked assured from start to finish, were there any doubts at all when he headed to his first major final?

“Definitely a lot of doubts. In the first game. I was up 5-6 points, and he came back a little bit. In the second game he started to make a couple of mistakes, and I didn’t want it to get to me like I’m going to win already, so I just (told myself to) keep my head down, keep focused, don’t show too much emotion, because once you let it all out, sometimes you lose focus. So I just told myself head down, keep working, it’s not over until I get 21 points.

“The adrenaline was still high the past couple nights, no sleep, but to be honest, today I had the best sleep of the past couple of days because I was just so tired, just because yesterday’s match was such a crazy long match that today I was just so tired I just fell asleep. A lot of scenarios running through my head, good and bad, and I’m happy that the good one, the good scenario played out today.”

→Results (Finals)