Paula Lynn Cao Hok (née Obañana; born March 19, 1985) is a Filipino-American

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player who was originally from Dumaguete, Philippines. In 2015, she won the women's doubles gold medals at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

in Toronto, Canada partnered with

Eva Lee Eva Lee (, born August 7, 1986) is an American badminton player. Career ;1997 She started to play badminton and trained with her first coach Peter Baum (former US National Team member). ;1998 She took her first three crown titles in US Jun ...

. In 2016, she competed at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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 Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private university, private Research institute, research university in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, the Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyte ...

and was subsequently awarded "Athlete of the Year", "Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year", and "Most Valuable Player". After graduating from high school she was recruited on a scholarship at the

De La Salle University De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic coeducational research university run by the I ...

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 Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Obañana officially became a U.S. citizen in May 2011.

Achievements

Pan American Games

''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

Pan Am Championships

''Women's doubles''

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 The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...

(BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017. ''Women's doubles'' : BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament : BWF Grand Prix tournament

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

''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles'' :

BWF International Challenge The BWF International Challenge is a grade 3 and level 1 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Series (level 2) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament :

BWF International Series The BWF International Series is a grade 3 and level 2 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Challenge (level 1) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament :

BWF Future Series The BWF Future Series is a grade 3 and level 3 tournaments part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Challenge (level 1) and International Series (level 2), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obanana, Paula Lynn 1985 births Living people 21st-century American women People from Dumaguete Sportspeople from Negros Oriental Filipino female badminton players Competitors at the 2003 SEA Games Competitors at the 2005 SEA Games American sportspeople of Filipino descent American female badminton players Badminton players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players for the United States Badminton players at the 2011 Pan American Games Badminton players at the 2015 Pan American Games Badminton players at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in badminton Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in badminton SEA Games competitors for the Philippines