Melanie Díaz González (born May 7, 1996) is a Puerto Rican

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

player. As of August 2019, she has been in position 88th with 3840 points in the ITTF Women's World Ranking.

Personal life

Melanie Díaz was born on May 7, 1996, to Bladimir Díaz and Marangely González and is the eldest of four sisters who also are table tennis athletes, Fabiola, Gabriela and

Adriana Adriana, also spelled Adrianna, is a Latin name and feminine form of Adrian. It originates from present day Italy. Translations *Arabic: أدريان * Belorussian: Адрыяна (Adryjana) *Bulgarian: Адриана (Adriana) *Chinese Simplifi ...

. Her paternal grandmother established and developed table tennis as a major sport in the mountainous municipality of

Utuado Utuado () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central mountainous region of the island known as the '' Cordillera Central''. It is located north of Adjuntas and Ponce; south of Hatillo and Arecibo; east of Lares; and west ...

, where her family grew up. Compared to other players at her level, she's trained and coached by her own father. Melanie is also cousin to table tennis player

Brian Afanador Brian O'Neill Afanador Pérez (born March 6, 1997) is a Puerto Rican table tennis player. On April 2, 2016, Afanador made history becoming the first Puerto Rican male table tennis player to qualify for the Olympic Games. On June 3, 2016, Afan ...

from her mother's side. She is a supporter and advocate of the

animal rights movement The animal rights (AR) movement, sometimes called the animal liberation, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement that seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, ...

and practices

veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

Career

International rise

Melanie Díaz irrupted onto the international arena by winning silver in the women's doubles alongside her sister Adriana during the

2014 Central American and Caribbean Games The 22nd Central American and Caribbean Games were held November 14–30, 2014 in Veracruz, Mexico.Sport page

. In 2015, she won her first Pan American bronze medal in the women's team competition alongside Adriana Díaz and teammate, Carelyn Cordero at the
2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...
. At the
2018 Central American and Caribbean Games The 23rd Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Barranquilla, Colombia. Asamblea ODECABE, Islas Caimán' (translation: "CASCO Assembly, Cayman Islands"). Published by CACSO on 2012-10-27; retrieved 2012-11-13. Bidding process Quetz ...
Melanie Díaz scored two
gold medals A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
. The first gold came from competing with Adriana in the women's doubles. The second came from playing in the female team alongside her sisters Adriana and Fabiola, and
Daniely Ríos Daniely Ríos Mora is a Puerto Rican table tennis player. As of January 2020, she has been in position 214th with 1660 points in the ITTF Women's World Ranking. In 2019, in collaboration with Adriana Díaz and Melanie Díaz, she was instrume ...
. She also won silver in mixed doubles playing with Daniel González.

Turning point at Lima 2019
Melanie Díaz first attained individual international recognition during the
2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games ( es, Juegos Panamericanos de 2019, links=no), officially the XVIII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Lima 2019 Pan-Am Games or Lima 2019 ( qu, Limaq 2019), were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Spo ...
in
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
, where she was seeded #6 in the women category. She helped win the first
Pan American Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

Table Tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
gold for
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
when playing at the Women's doubles beside her sister Adriana. Díaz also established her status as a separate international medalist by winning individual bronze at the Women's singles. She shared the bronze podium at this event's medal ceremony with Brazilian
Bruna Takahashi Bruna Takahashi (born July 19, 2000) is a Brazilian table tennis player. She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics as part of the Brazilian team in the women's team event. At the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, she was seeded #5, and is ...
. Díaz finally played against Bruna Takahashi in a close and lively game during the final women's team, in which she helped earn one more gold for her team. Because of her playing skills in this match, international press nicknamed the female players of the Puerto Rican team as the "comeback kids."

See also
* Adriana Díaz *
Brian Afanador Brian O'Neill Afanador Pérez (born March 6, 1997) is a Puerto Rican table tennis player. On April 2, 2016, Afanador made history becoming the first Puerto Rican male table tennis player to qualify for the Olympic Games. On June 3, 2016, Afan ...
*
Bruna Takahashi Bruna Takahashi (born July 19, 2000) is a Brazilian table tennis player. She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics as part of the Brazilian team in the women's team event. At the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, she was seeded #5, and is ...
*
Caroline Kumahara Luca Aiko Kumahara (formerly Caroline Aiko Kumahara, born July 27, 1995, in São Paulo, São Paulo) is a table tennis player from Brazil. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics The , off ...
*
Jennifer Wu Yue "Jennifer" Wu (born January 4, 1990) is a Chinese American table tennis player originally from China who has been named to the U.S. team at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She was a gold medalist in women's team and women's singles at the 2015 P ...
*
Lily Zhang Lily Ann Zhang (born June 16, 1996) is an American table tennis player who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with teammates Ariel Hsing and Erica Wu. She also competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio with teammates Jiaqi Zheng ...
*
Puerto Rico at the 2019 Pan American Games Puerto Rico competed in the 2019 Pan American Games which took place in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019. On June 19, 2019, wrestler Franklin Gómez was named as the country's flag bearer during the opening ceremony. The Puerto Rico t ...

References

External links

Melanie Díaz - ITTF

Melanie Díaz - ULTM

Melanie Díaz - Bestoftt

Melanie Díaz - Table Tennis Guide
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Díaz, Melanie 1996 births Living people Pan American Games bronze medalists for Puerto Rico Pan American Games medalists in table tennis People from Utuado, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican table tennis players Table tennis players at the 2015 Pan American Games Table tennis players at the 2019 Pan American Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in table tennis Competitors at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Table tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic table tennis players for Puerto Rico