'Canada are no longer underdogs in world badminton'

KUALA LUMPUR: Canada are shedding their underdog status in world badminton, according to Brian Yang, who believes recent results show the country is making genuine progress beyond long-held perceptions.

World No. 33 Brian's campaign at the Malaysia Open ended in the first round on Wednesday after losing to Ireland's Nhat Nguyen 21-8, 21-19 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.

Despite the loss, he said Canadian players deserve greater recognition internationally.

"Over the past few years we've been making a bigger impact," said Brian.

His claims are backed by performances on the World Tour last year, where Canada consistently placed players deep into tournaments across multiple categories.

World No. 22 Victor Lai has been at the forefront of that surge, reaching the final of the Canada Open Super 300 after defeating Brian in the semi-finals before losing to Japan's Kenta Nishimoto.

Victor further underlined his growing stature by reaching the semi-finals of the Japan Masters Super 500, where he was stopped by Koki Watanabe.

Brian, who turns 25 in November, has also delivered solid results this year, reaching the semi-finals of the Canada Open and the Japan Open Super 750, where he was beaten by Hong Kong's Angus Ng.

Canada's progress has also been built on the consistency of women's singles veteran Michelle Li, 34, who has continued to deliver at top-tier events.

Michelle reached finals at the French Open and Japan Open, both Super 750 tournaments, and made the semi-finals of the Singapore Open Super 750, as well as the Australian Open and Hong Kong Open, both Super 500 events.

Brian said Victor's emergence reflects how Canada's development pathway is beginning to mature, with younger players now benefiting from improved exposure, experience, and belief.

"Compared to when Michelle first came onto the international scene, there's a lot more now," he said.

"It's thanks to people like her that we've been able to improve as a country."

Brian also noted that sustained results are slowly changing how Canadian badminton is viewed at home and abroad.

Even so, he believes setbacks are part of the broader process as Canada continues to build depth and consistency.

Selected results

(Malaysians unless stated)

Men's singles: Lu Guang Zu (Chn) bt Angus Ng (HK) 21-17, 21-15; Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) bt Chi Yu Jen 21-18, 21-18; Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Wang Tzu Wei (Tai) 21-10, 21-13; Leong Jun Hao bt Wang Zheng Xing (Chn) 21-17, 21-17; Koki Watanabe (Jpn) bt Weng Hong Yang (Chn) 16-21, 21-7, 21-13; Jonatan Christie (Ina) bt Lee Chia Hao (Tai) 21-18, 21-14; Alex Lanier (Fra) bt Alwi Farhan (Ina) 21-13, 19-21, 21-13; Nhat Nguyen (Irl) bt Brian Yang (Can) 21-8, 21-19.

Doubles: Kang Min Hyuk-Ki Dong Ju (Kor) bt Huang Di-Ren Xiang Yu (Chn) 23-21, 18-21, 21-14; Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani (Ina) bt Raymond Indra-Nikolaus Joaquin (Ina) 21-18, 21-9; Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Shohibul Fikri (Ina) bt Lee Fang Chih-Lee Fang Jen (Tai) 24-26, 21-4, 21-8; Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King bt Choi Sol Gyu-Goh V Shem (Kor/Mas) 22-20, 21-12; Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Ind) bt Lee Jhe Huei-Yang Po Hsuan (Tai) 21-13, 21-15; Chen Zhi Ray-Lin Yu Chieh (Tai) bt Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov (Fra) 19-21, 21-17, 21-13; Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bt Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith 21-11, 21-19.

Women's singles: P. V. Sindhu (Ind) bt Sung Shuo Yun (Tai) 21-13, 22-20; Tomoko Miyazaki (Jpn) bt Sim Yu Jin (Kor) 21-19, 2-1 (Rtd); Beiwen Zhang (US) bt Line Christophersen (Den) 21-14, 14-21, 21-9; Gao Fang Jie (Chn) bt Riko Gunji (Jpn) 13-21, 21-17, 21-19; Putri Kusuma Wardani (Ina) Minami Suizu (Jpn) 21-8, 21-16.

Doubles: Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian (Chn) bt Hsu Ya Ching-Sung Yu Hsuan (Tai) 21-19, 21-10; Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Meilysa Trias Puspitasari (Ina) bt Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand Pullela (Ind) 21-9, 21-23, 21-19; Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Rutaparna Panda-Swetaparna Panda (Ind) 21-11, 21-9.

Mixed doubles: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai bt Wu Guan Xun-Lee Chia Hsin (Tai) 15-21, 21-19, 21-14; Presley Smith-Jennie Gai (US) bt Dhruv Kapila (Ind) 21-15, 18-21, 21-15; Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt Ye Hong Wei-Nicole Gonzalez (Tai) 21-16, 21-18; Jesper Toft-Amalie Magelund (Den) bt Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra) 21-13, 17-21, 21-9; Jiang Zheng Bang-Wei Ya Xin (Chn) bt Rohan Kapoor-Ruthvika Shivani Gadde (Ind) 21-10, 21-17.