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At the 2025 BWF World Championships in
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Paris, Victor Lie made history by
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beating Singapore's Loinu and winning
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Canada's first medal at a badminton
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But he leaves now with
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the craziest part, too, is that Victor
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Lie was considered a part-time badminton
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player where he has really only played
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during breaks from school. So, how did
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he do it? How did a part-time university
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student from Canada beat Singapore's
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world champion? Despite Victor Lie
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having less experience and accolades
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than Low Keen U, we had a feeling that
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Victor Lie was going to win. And there
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were three main things that stood out to
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us. First, his footwork and movements.
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Second, Victor Li's shot choices. And
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third, his consistency and patience.
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This may come as a shock to some of you,
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but we think Victor Lie has some of the
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best footwork, even among the top pro
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players. The reason we think that is
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because his footwork flows with the game
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and what's happening in the rallies.
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Take a look at these rallies and focus
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on Victor Li's footwork.
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What you'll notice is that Victor lie is
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very relaxed and is very good at
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adjusting his body stance, feet
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positioning, and recovery footwork based
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on the timing of his shots and the
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potential shots his opponent can play.
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For example, you'll see that Victor lie
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is not staying super low all the time.
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He only gets really low when he's
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preparing for defense and can
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occasionally be seen standing more
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upright to conserve energy.
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He's also not moving at his max speed
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all the time and instead follows the
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pace of the game and recovers faster
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when he plays a faster shot and slower
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when he does have the time.
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Combine this with li's smooth and almost
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effortless movements and the result is
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that Victor plays rather more
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efficiently compared to many other
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players on the circuit.
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Speaking of matching footwork speed to
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your shots, let's talk about Victor Li's
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shot choices. Victor Lie is a player who
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makes use of many of the ideas we talk
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about on this channel very well. And
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what we'll highlight today is his
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strategy to change pace at the front
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court. Victor is a bad mitten player
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with very good net play. And his whole
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strategy revolves around capturing
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opportunities through killing half court
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or flat lifts and clears. And to get
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these opportunities, Victor Li's
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gameplay is all about changing pace at
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the net. Watch these rallies and pay
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special attention to how Victor watches
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the net and speeds up whenever Loinu
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decides to play the net.
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Now because Victor Lie speeds up to take
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the net early, he has options. He can
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spin net, play a push, or what has been
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extremely effective for him is the use
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of deceptions to play fast to slow pace
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changes. The result is that Victor lie
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was almost always the one to control the
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pace in rallies and made it extremely
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difficult for Loki to play.
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Victor li strategy is also completed by
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his patience and consistency. When you
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watch Victor play, he makes little
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errors and does not force any plays. If
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he doesn't have an opportunity to change
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then he will opt for a neutralizing shot
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like a block toward the middle or high
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lift. And we can talk a little more
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about these shots. Victor Lie is one of
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the players who makes the most use of
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blocks and nets toward the middle. And
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the benefit of doing so is that the
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angles of your opponent's returns are
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reduced. So Loin Yu's shot must pass
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through Victor Li's reach before hitting
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its mark, making it easier for you to
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recover and continue the rally.
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If Victor Lie does not choose to go for
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a net toward the middle when he's late,
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he will often choose to lift and push
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very high. The benefit with these pushes
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when played well is that your opponent
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cannot easily cut off the shuttle, nor
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can they jump into the shot with a lot
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of momentum. Compare this to his
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opponent Loki, who of course still lifts
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and pushes high, but often plays these
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flatter pushes that get countered by
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As such, there are many instances where
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you see Loen Yu take a late forehand and
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play less aggressive shots on Victor
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Liy's pushes, allowing Victor to restart
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the rally and look for new
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Similarly, in the back court, Victor is
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not always forcing powerful smashes and
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will play other shots patiently, which
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is in huge contrast to his opponent,
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Throughout the entire match, Victor lie
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made 14 unforced errors while Loinu made
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26. Out of the 43 points scored by
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Victor, Lo's 26 errors were a part of
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them, making up around 60% of Victor
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And much of the issue with Low in this
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match was his tendency to rush.
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with a score line of 22 to 20, 21 to 18,
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Low definitely was no means a bad
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player. And if anything,
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the score line and high mistakes showed
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his scoring capabilities
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You're just waiting for that.
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But ultimately the number of mistakes Lo
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made and Victor Liy's lack thereof was
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the differencemaker in this match. And
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maybe the controversial call in the
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second set at 8 to 5 affected Loki Yu's
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mental state. Either way, as a
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professional athlete, you have to be
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able to recover your mental state
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regardless of what happens.
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What do you think though? Was it a fault
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or not? And will Victor Lie become a top
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10 player in the world? Let us know in
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the comments below. And as always, make
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sure to hit the like and subscribe
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button so you don't miss out on future
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videos. Thanks for watching.
