NEW DELHI: Just 12 or so months ago, Viktor Axelsen, a name that needs no introduction, had maintained his usual high standards to capture the men's singles crown, wowing the crowd in the process at the India Open here. Axelsen, however, is not part of the ongoing edition of the Super 750 meet as he is yet to recover from a surgery last year. In his absence, his namesake, Victor Lai, is quietly making people sit up and take notice in the ongoing edition of the BWF World Tour meet. If Axelsen is a legend, Lai is an up-and-coming talent who has dreams to emulate the former in the future. On Friday, he came a step closer to achieving what Axelsen has done on numerous occasions in the past editions here at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.
Lai was made to sweat though. After 90-minutes of gruelling dog-fight against his opponent Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei, the World No 19 finally got over the line (21-18, 17-21, 21-15 in Lai's favour) to enter the men's singles semifinal. The importance of this success can't be overstated. Until last August, not many were aware of Lai's existence. Not until he, also juggling his studies then, had shot to fame out of nowhere by posting some monstrous scalps at the World Championships in Paris to end up with bronze. "The Worlds was...no words, it was just unbelievable. Everyone would say the same. Nobody expected me to go to the semifinals. Even in the semifinals, I played so well against the World No 1. I'm very proud of the way that I played, on the biggest stage there is. Other than the Olympics, the Worlds is the biggest," he recalled.
But since then, he had largely struggled to cope with the demands of the sport at the elite level. "After that it was actually tough just because people got to learn about me. Once they know your name, they start to study you, they start to watch you. I'm not a no name anymore. It was quite hard. After the Worlds, I couldn't find much success."
It's no wonder that he's a relieved man to be producing noteworthy performances since the start of the new season. "Last week was pretty satisfying. I'm pretty proud of the way I have played and how I could make it to the semifinals," Lai said after Friday's match.
This is incidentally his best-ever performance at this level — first semifinal appearance at the Super 750 level in his second attempt (at this level) so far. When pointed about the common name, Lai, with a warm smile, was visibly in awe of the Danish legend. "He is a two-time Olympic champion. He has won the India Open many times. I guess it's cool we have the same name but my dream is to be as successful as him."
That's a sizeable dream for someone who comes from a region where badminton is still an afterthought. Lai, on the personal front, has had improved support but it's still a tall order for a shuttler from that region to be competitive at the elite level, despite their talent. In this event, Lai is travelling with other players and he does not have a coach to lean on to. But he does have dedicated coaches who take care of his needs. And he also gets invaluable inputs from fellow compatriots like Michelle Li and Brian Yang, a player he had beaten on Thursday.
The 21-year-old has a firm head on his shoulders. Having shown enough signs of overcoming a tough period, he is well-aware that he's still raw at the elite level. He's just focussing on evolving as a player.
"There's still time for the Olympics. I want to be part of it, that's obviously in the rear-view mirror. That's a big goal. I'm just focussing on improving as a player. I'm 21, I'm still young. I'm not like more experienced players looking to gain points and win some tournaments. I just want to improve as a player first, that's the most important thing for now. I want to improve physically, mentally to build up my career so that I have an upward trend. I also want to improve my rankings and just do well in these big tournaments."