Paula Lynn Cao Hok

Paula Lynn Cao Hok (née Obañana; born 19 March 1985) is a Filipino-American badminton player who was originally from Dumaguete, Philippines.[1][2] In 2015, she won the women's doubles gold medals at the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada partnered with Eva Lee.[3] In 2016, she competed at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[4]

Paula Lynn Cao Hok
Personal information
Birth namePaula Lynn Parrocho Obañana
CountryUnited States
Born (1985-03-19) 19 March 1985
Dumaguete, Philippines
ResidenceMinneapolis–Saint Paul, United States
Height1.61 m (5 ft 3 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
HandednessRight
CoachAlistair Casey
Johanna Lee
Women's & mixed doubles
Highest ranking17 (WD 2 April 2015)
63 (XD 30 July 2019)
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto Women's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Guadalajara Women's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Guadalajara Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Lima Mixed doubles
Pan Am Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Santo Domingo Women's doubles
Gold medal – first place 2014 Markham Women's doubles
Silver medal – second place 2013 Santo Domingo Mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2014 Markham Mixed team
BWF profile

Personal life

Obañana, started training at the age of 10 during her elementary years at the Silliman University Elementary School. She later joined the High School Badminton Varsity Team at Silliman University and was subsequently awarded "Athlete of the Year", "Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year", and "Most Valuable Player".[5] After graduating from high school she was recruited on a scholarship at the De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines where she eventually obtained her bachelor's degree. She left the Philippines in 2006, where her mother Nenita had been recruited to work as a nurse in Minnesota. Obañana officially became a U.S. citizen in May 2011.[6]

Achievements

Pan American Games

Women's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2011 Multipurpose Gymnasium,
Guadalajara, Mexico
United States Eva Lee Canada Alex Bruce
Canada Michelle Li
21–12, 16-21, 19-21 Bronze Bronze
2015 Atos Markham Pan Am Centre,
Toronto, Canada
United States Eva Lee Brazil Lohaynny Vicente
Brazil Luana Vicente
21–14, 21–6 Gold Gold

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2011 Multipurpose Gymnasium,
Guadalajara, Mexico
United States Howard Bach Canada Toby Ng
Canada Grace Gao
11–21, 21–19, 14–21 Bronze Bronze
2019 Polideportivo 3,
Lima, Peru
United States Howard Shu Canada Nyl Yakura
Canada Kristen Tsai
15–21, 15–21 Bronze Bronze

Pan Am Championships

Women's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2013 Palacio de los Deportes Virgilio Travieso Soto,
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
United States Eva Lee Canada Alex Bruce
Canada Phyllis Chan
21–15, 21–13 Gold Gold
2014 Markham Pan Am Centre,
Markham, Canada
United States Eva Lee Brazil Lohaynny Vicente
Brazil Luana Vicente
23–21, 21–14 Gold Gold

BWF Grand Prix (1 runner-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2014 U.S. Grand Prix United States Eva Lee Chinese Taipei Hsieh Pei-chen
Chinese Taipei Wu Ti-jung
16–21, 10–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (18 titles, 13 runners-up)

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2009 Miami Pan Am International United States Priscilla Lun Spain Sandra Chirlaque
Peru Alejandra Monteverde
22–20, 13–21, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2010 Brazil International United States Eva Lee United States Iris Wang
United States Rena Wang
14–21, 21–11, 21–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2011 Guatemala International United States Eva Lee Canada Grace Gao
Canada Joycelyn Ko
19–21, 21–18, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2011 Brazil International United States Eva Lee Canada Alex Bruce
Canada Michelle Li
21–14, 21–17 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2011 Norwegian International United States Eva Lee Netherlands Lotte Jonathans
Netherlands Paulien van Dooremalen
17–21, 21–6, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2012 Swedish Masters United States Eva Lee England Mariana Agathangelou
England Heather Olver
15–21, 12–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2012 Austrian International United States Eva Lee Malaysia Ng Hui Ern
Malaysia Ng Hui Lin
16–21, 18–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2012 Polish Open United States Eva Lee England Mariana Agathangelou
England Heather Olver
12–21, 21–23 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2012 Tahiti International United States Eva Lee Canada Alex Bruce
Canada Michelle Li
21–13, 21–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2013 Canadian International United States Eva Lee Canada Alex Bruce
Canada Phyllis Chan
15–21, 14–21 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2013 Bulgarian International United States Eva Lee Bulgaria Gabriela Stoeva
Bulgaria Stefani Stoeva
15–21, 10–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2014 Peru International United States Eva Lee Canada Nicole Grether
Canada Charmaine Reid
21–14, 21–15 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2014 Guatemala International United States Eva Lee Brazil Paula B Pereira
Brazil Fabiana Silva
11–3, 11–3, 11–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2014 USA International United States Eva Lee Japan Naoko Fukuman
Japan Kurumi Yonao
10–21, 23–25 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2015 Guatemala International United States Eva Lee Germany Johanna Goliszewski
Germany Carla Nelte
18–21, 22–24 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2015 Bulgarian International United States Eva Lee Bulgaria Gabriela Stoeva
Bulgaria Stefani Stoeva
14–21, 10–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2015 Chile International Challenge United States Eva Lee Brazil Lohaynny Vicente
Brazil Luana Vicente
21–17, 21–16 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2016 Austrian Open United States Eva Lee Russia Ekaterina Bolotova
Russia Evgeniya Kosetskaya
11–21, 21–23 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2016 Tahiti International United States Eva Lee Japan Akane Araki
Japan Ayaka Kawasaki
13–21, 12–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2016 Yonex / K&D Graphics International United States Eva Lee United States Jing Yu Hong
United States Beiwen Zhang
17–21, 20–22 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2022 Peru Challenge United States Lauren Lam United States Annie Xu
United States Kerry Xu
21–19, 21–18 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2022 Mexican International United States Lauren Lam Canada Catherine Choi
Canada Josephine Wu
19–21, 10–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2022 El Salvador International United States Lauren Lam United States Annie Xu
United States Kerry Xu
21–18, 21–17 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2023 Estonian International United States Lauren Lam Sweden Moa Sjöö
Sweden Tilda Sjöö
21–10, 21–11 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2023 Lagos International United States Lauren Lam India Simran Singhi
India Ritika Thaker
Walkover 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2011 Miami International United States Phillip Chew Sri Lanka Lasitha Menaka
Sri Lanka Renu Chandrika Hettiarachchige
21–18, 17–21, 21–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2019 Uganda International United States Howard Shu United States Vinson Chiu
United States Breanna Chi
21–9, 21–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2019 Mauritius International United States Howard Shu United States Vinson Chiu
United States Breanna Chi
17–21, 16–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2019 Peru International United States Howard Shu Brazil Fabricio Farias
Brazil Jaqueline Lima
21–17, 22–20 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2019 Benin International United States Howard Shu Australia Pit Seng Low
Australia Louisa Ma
21–12, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2019 Côte d'Ivoire International United States Howard Shu Egypt Ahmed Salah
Egypt Hadia Hosny
21–16, 21–14 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

References

  1. "Players: Paula Lynn Obanana". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  2. "Athletes: Paula Lynn Obanana Badminton". Badminton USA. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  3. "Badminton - Athlete Profile: Obanana Paula Lynn". Toronto 2015. Archived from the original on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  4. "Paula Lynn Obanana". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  5. "Silliman Alumnus competes in Olympics" (PDF). Silliman University Alumni Association, Inc. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  6. "Minnesotan Paula Lynn Obanana living dream in Rio Olympics". www.startribune.com. Star Tribune. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
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