Lima, Peru (April 12, 2025) – Team Canada completed the prestigious XXVIII YONEX Pan Am Individual Championships 2025 with 11 medals including 3 gold (men’s singles, mixed doubles), 4 silver (men’s singles, women’s singles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles) and 5 bronze (men’s singles, 2 in women’s doubles and 2 in men’s doubles). Canadians led the tournament with 11 total medals, the next closet nation winning 4 (Brazil), followed by 3 (USA).
The winning started early in the day following an all-Canadian men’s singles match where Victor Lai, who beat Guatemalan powerhouse Kevin Cordon to get in the final, bested Josh Nguyen, who beat the number one ranked Canadian Brian Yang for a final qualification, 21-9 and 21-18 to collect Canada’s first gold and silver. In match 2, Ty Lindeman and Josephine Wu continued the gold rush in another all-Canadian match-up with Jonathan Lai and Crystal Lai winning 21-15 and 21-15. Wen Yu Zhang, after besting fellow Canadian Rachel Chan, found herself in the women’s final against Juliana Viana Viera from Brazil who advanced after downing top ranked Canadian Michelle Li. Wen put up a strong fight eventually winning the silver after falling in three games 21-19, 15-21 and 21-8. The final match of the day involved Canadians Jackie Dent and Crystal Lai Lauren Lam and Allison Lee from the United States. In their first ever match the American duo walked away with the gold after winning 21-11 and 21-13.
The only final not involving Canadians was the men’s doubles. However, Canadian teams Jonathan Lai and Nyl Yakura, and Kevin Lee and Ty Lindeman, both won bronze medals after falling in the semi-finals.
“Team Canada in Lima had very good results with multiple players and teams reaching the podium. Everyone gave their all in a very short and competitive field. We had breakout performances by a variety of team members,” shared Mike Butler, Team Canada Head Coach, “It was nice to see Canada do so well in all events. Winning 11 medals shows that we, as a nation, are headed in the right direction to compete in the highest levels of the sport. Next stop Sudirman Cup in China the end of the month!”
This event continues Canadian success at Pan Am Championships after the Canadian team took gold at the Pan American Cup 2025 in February to qualify for the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2025 in China during May 2025 where Canada will compete in Pool B versus Chinese Taipei, Czechia and Korea.
These top Canadian players will also be in action this summer on home soil during the Yonex Canada Open 2025 at the Markham Pan Am Centre from July 1 to 6. Tickets are available through www.yonexcanadaopen.ca. This HSBC BWF World Tour event offers a prize purse of $240K USD and attracts some of the best players from around the world.
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For more information or media inquiries please contact:
Badminton Canada
Bryan R. Merrett
bmerrett@badminton.ca
Telephone: 613-518-1501
About Badminton Canada
With shuttles reaching speeds as high as 493 kph, badminton attracts more than 220 million people worldwide to play the sport weekly, making badminton the second most participated-in sport in the world. Badminton Canada works to grow the game across the country through events, coaching and officials’ development, and developing programs such as Shuttletime. In Canada, over 2 million people
picked up a badminton racquet and played our sport. Some play at the cottage, some in the backyard, at school, the local community centre or as part of an organized Badminton Canada competition. Badminton is easily accessible – for any Canadian – at any age – for life!